In the end, nothing may come out of Tanushree Dutta’s recital of a ten year old charge of sexual misconduct against fellow actor Nana Patekar while the two were shooting Horn OK Please. Yet, the wide publicity that her account of the incident has received can be expected to have a salutary influence on the male actors and others in the film industry. In the age of #MeToo and a heightened awareness in the age of social media, naming and shaming sexual predators in Bollywood and outside in other walks of life affords victims the much-needed mental catharsis and a protective shield. Because unwanted sexual advances rarely, if ever, become matters of police investigations, it is important for the grown-up men, whether actors, producers or cameramen, to behave like, well, grown-ups.
Upbringing becomes secondary in a male-dominated culture which treats heroes like demi-gods who can do no wrong, who come to have a sense of entitlement over their female counterparts and other women in the industry. This should end. It is disappointing to see the huge line-up of A-Grade actors all clammed up or lending support to the alleged offender rather than to the distressed victim who was so shaken by her experience that she quit the industry, or, more likely, the male-dominated Bollywood ganged-up against her for her audacity and denied her work. Either way, her courageous recall of the ugly attack is a warning to all men in the industry: No longer can you take women actors as easy meat to be had at your fancy. They, too, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.