New Delhi:
On August 9, 2024, a 31-year-old trainee doctor, on duty at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, was brutally raped and murdered. Sadly, rape and murder are not uncommon in our country. What emerged in the RG Kar case was that the rape and murder took place at the doctor’s workplace.
Therefore, women of all age groups across West Bengal took to the streets and participated in vigil marches to demand justice for the RG tax.
The message was loud and clear, “Enough is enough.”
The following month, an influential Bengali director who had been accused of sexual harassment by several women over the years was again accused of the same thing.
The stage was set. Since one woman after another in Tollywood said #MeToo, this time the complaint was ignored. The director was barred from work indefinitely by the Directors Guild.
#MeToo is nothing new in the Bengali film industry. But 2024 made it louder. After the shocking RG Kar incident, the City of Joy has finally given up its decades-old indifference towards atrocities (physical, verbal, sexual) against women.
Subsequently, the Bengali film industry (known as Tollywood) also raised its voice – “We want justice”; “#MeToo”, justice against inappropriate behavior on film sets, against lewd comments, against indecent gestures – all these are easily ignored in an industry where the concept of consent has always been “taken for granted”. .
Arindam Sil accused of #MeToo, FIR registered
A popular television actress has filed a complaint against director Arindam Sil for sexual misconduct on the film sets. A complaint was lodged with the Women’s Commission in September 2024. After the complaint the director was called for questioning.
The actress alleged that during the shooting of the film, the director kissed her on the pretext of explaining a scene. Ekti khuner sondhane mitin.
Arindam Sil
Director of films like Arindam Sil Har Har Byomkesh, Eagler Chokh, Dhananjay, Initially it was claimed that it was “unintentional (reported by Anandabazar Patrika)” Women’s Commission made the director and the actress sit together for a transparent meeting.
Later the director apologized to the actress on paper.
The actress also lodged an FIR against Arindam Sil at Bishnupur Police Station (Diamond Harbour), as the shooting took place at a resort in that area.
Following the allegations, the Directors Guild suspended Arindam Sil indefinitely.
In September last year, the accused director had told Anandabazar Patrika“I apologized. Yet I was suspended without any consultation. I will seek legal counsel.”
Rupanjana Mitra – Whistleblower
Five years ago, another popular television actress, Rupanjana Mitra, had publicly called out Arindam Sil for #MeToo. The incident happened in 2017 and the actress spoke about it publicly in 2019.
When asked why it took them two years to open, Rupanjana Mitra explained ndtv This week, “My child was 4 years old then. He is now 11 years old. I was in a contract with the channel. Calling him out [Arindam Sil] This will affect my personal and professional life.”
When Rupanjana Mitra first accused the “influential” director of abusive behaviour, she faced the wrath of many insiders. But the actress believed in “karma” and this time the clock turned in her favor.
Mitra told, “This time, when another actress accused her, people who did not believe me earlier changed their view. Swastika Mukherjee openly supported me. She even said, This should have been ‘punishment’.” ndtv,
Right from the beginning, Rupanjana Mitra created a simple image for herself in the industry. After working successfully for several decades, if they face such harassment, does the Bengali industry offer any hope to newcomers?
“I was only 19 years old at the time. A woman who literally worked somewhere between a producer and a casting director called me to a transit house. Later, it turned out that the woman had introduced many new people to Had called with ‘wrong intention’.
“I filed a complaint against him at the Garia police station. I also filed a complaint at the Artists Forum. Roopa Ganguly was part of the body then,” the actress recalled.
On another occasion, Rupanjana Mitra was thrown out of a show after she called out a senior actor on the sets for his inappropriate behaviour. She was not a newcomer then.
Sudipta Chakraborty, who worked in Arindam Sil directed DhananjayDidn’t face any unpleasant experiences with the director.
“I have not encountered anything untoward with him. That does not mean that other women who have accused him are lying.”
The actress explained, “It’s a freelancing profession. Knowing the consequences of this – which can impact their work opportunities going forward – women are opening up, I think those accounts need to be trusted and women Must be supported morally.” ndtv,
Accused of #MeToo in Bengali theater
Not just in films, the Bengali theater sector was also in an uproar when actor and acting coach Demini Benny Basu called out eminent theater personality Suman Mukhopadhyay for enabling the #MeToo-accused actor.
Mukhopadhyay was called out for including a man accused of sexual harassment in his play teener sword (Written by Utpal Dutta) In April 2024.
The accused Sudipto Chatterjee was called out by several women at the peak of the #MeToo movement in 2018-2019.
Two police complaints were also filed against him – one at Phoolbagan police station and the other at Beliaghata police station. The cases are still pending.
Highlighting Suman Mukhopadhyay’s silence, Damine Basu had written on social media in April, “Our hearts are broken now when you have chosen to dehumanize the struggle of so many women, young girls and young boys fighting for themselves. Chose radio silence on an important matter.” Rights over their safety in the theater area.
“Is our protection, our harassment or abuse, not political?”idiots“Or “dangerous” enough for any of you to talk about? Basu wrote.
Mukhommukhi, the theater group that staged the play, finally issued a statement on behalf of all the cast and crew members of the production. Tinner Tolowar.
The statement read, “Sudipto Chatterjee is no longer a part of the production. He has been asked to leave after the first show. It was a wrong decision on our part to include him in the play. We immediately corrected our mistake and removed him from the cast. ” ,
In an open letter published in a Bengali daily, Suman Mukhopadhyay wrote that he was sorry if he had hurt people’s sentiments.
“By casting Sudipto, if I have hurt people’s sentiments, I am deeply sorry. Those who are protesting have not accepted the fact that Sudipto is no longer a part of the drama.
“They are saying that I have quietly removed him from the play. I don’t understand why this is wrong. Do they want me to call Sudipto before the performance and announce that he has been removed from the play?” Suman said in the open letter.
“I have staged more than 25 plays. Made ten films and I have never faced such a situation. Even after all this, if I am putting people in the industry in danger, it is really very Sad. I have no right to work in this.” No more theatre,” wrote Suman Mukhopadhyay.
When Damini Basu was asked about the challenges she faced while raising the #MeToo movement against celebrities, she said chotolok the actor told ndtv“The performance sector is built on contradictions. At its core is precarity. It demands perfection but refuses to recognize itself as an industry, leaving workers without protection.
Basu said, “Abuse – whether emotional, financial or physical – is widespread and often ignored. Those in power get away with it because silence and complicity have become survival strategies for many. “
The actress added, “At the same time, many who criticize abuse also struggle to acknowledge their own role in perpetuating it in these harmful systems, making it even more difficult to achieve accountability “Vulnerability is unevenly distributed, and those most vulnerable are forced into harmful alignments.”
Ritabhari Chakraborty met the Chief Minister, demanded an organization like Hema Committee
On the lines of the Hema Committee (an advisory committee constituted by the Kerala government in July 2017 to examine issues related to sexual violence and gender inequality), Bengali actress Ritabhari Chakraborty urged women from the Bengali film industry to speak out against sexual harassment. In a Facebook post in September, workplace harassment. He also tagged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in his post.
After his Facebook post, CM called Ritabhari to meet him in Nabanna. Ritabhari shared Anandabazar Patrika What will the committee look like? The CM will form a committee of five ministers, which will decide the guidelines after thoroughly reading the Hema Committee report. An investigation committee will also be formed.
The five-member committee will be headed by a former Chief Justice. Police, psychologists, lawyers will also be part of the committee. Ritabhari requested Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not to keep anyone from the industry in the committee. The actress told the media that the CM accepted her request.
During her personal meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Ritabhari Chakraborty also accused two “influential” producers of sexual harassment.
Hope in the time of #MeToo
Following the Arindam Sil case, prominent Bengali women actors, writers, directors formed a forum called Women’s Forum for Screen Workers to address the grievances of women facing workplace violence.
Aparna Sen, Damini Beni Basu and Sudipta Chakraborty are members of this forum. The forum is working towards building a secure future and hassle-free workplace for women in the Bengali industry.
After all the show must go on.
