I refuse to work with someone that I know is a repeat offender: Freida Pinto

Ever since #MeToo, many Bollywood actors have opened up about the existence of sexual abuse in the film industry

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto is all set to star in the Tabrez Noorani-helmed controversial drama Love Sonia. 

While the film revolves around human trafficking and forced prostitution in India, Pinto's thought-provoking film has come at the right time, when the global debate regarding sexual harassment is at its peak.

The starlet, however, just shared that her personal #MeToo movement involves rejecting movies with men who she knows have been abusers.

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“I refuse to work with someone that I know is a repeat offender. I wish I could do the same here (in India)," she told The Indian Express. “The whole MeToo movement in the West was possible because there was a lot of support and a lot of research went into it. We all know who the people are in India," the actor added.

"It is the same way everyone knew it was Harvey Weinstein in Hollywood. But someone had the courage and in this case, Ronan Farrow (journalist with The New Yorker) to get deep into his research and get support for these women and support them when that story would come out. You tell me one journalist in India who would do that and put his career on the line,” Pinto commented.

PHOTO: INSTYLE

Ever since Harvey Weinstein's debacle started Hollywood, many Bollywood actors have opened up about the existence of sexual abuse in the film industry but no one has named and shamed any culprits yet.

The actor said that another aspect that needs to be taken into account while analysing the difference in how the #MeToo movement fared in the West and in India is that the female actors who did come out with their stories of harassment were the ones already out of work.

PHOTO: INSTYLE

“The girls that came out first after the #MeToo movement were the girls who had experienced something and were not working already. The girls that are active here came out much later. The known actresses should be grateful and thankful to the ones who had the courage to come out,” she said.

Love Sonia also features Richa Chadha, Freida Pinto, Rajkummar Rao, Sai Tamhankar, Demi Moore and Manoj Bajpayee.

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