Radhika Apte calls #MeToo movement in Bollywood disappointing

The actor believes that the movement 'came and went' without making an impact


December 18, 2019

Radhika Apte at a recent media brand launch expressed her cynicism with the course of the #MeToo movement in India. According to an article published on Hindustan Times, the actor when asked about her dislikes for the decade pointed out the ineffectiveness of the movement in Bollywood.

"Me Too movement came and went. It is disappointing. A lot of things that should've changed, have not changed. A lot of things have not come out, have not changed. That's really disappointing" Apte said at the Times Network India Economic Conclave.

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The Sacred Games star also discussed the pay parity between men and women in Bollywood.  "There's no pay parity at all. We don't need to talk about pay parity like 'should this A list actress get few more crores than a male A list actor.' It's not just that. If an A list actor is getting you that sure shot three crore of money, he should be getting paid more money, talking in broader strokes" she said. " But apart from the A-lister, the rest of the cast and crew is also made up of men and women. We don't have parity there. There's no excuse to not have parity there. They don't affect your box office at all,"

She went on to use the example of the pay difference between actors cast as parents. "Suppose somebody plays someone's father and mother, still the father gets paid more money than the mother! There's absolutely no logic to that" she said.

Radhika however wasn't shy of discussing the positives in Bollywood for the decade noting that female representation has increased. "What has changed, is a lot of women behind the camera as technicians. Directors, writers, producers, editors, cinematographers. The crew has a lot of women and that's a very good sign," she said.

The #MeToo movement in India surfaced in 2018 when several women came out against various public figures of the industry. Tanushree Dutta had gone on to accuse actor Nana Patekar for harassing her on the set off  Horn 'Ok' Pleassss back in 2009. Youtube comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB) also came under scrutiny for overlooking harassment incidents at the workplace. This resulted  in the group going inactive indefinitely. Additionally several women came out against director Sajid Khan accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior. This eventually lead to Sajid Khan taking a step back from the production of Houseful 4 with  Farhad Samji taking up directorial duties.

 

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