For years, Kangana Ranaut has been an idol of sorts, for many. The bold and brazen Queen actress has raked up issues that were buried in the seedy underbelly of Bollywood - like nepotism for instance, and has fought back singlehandedly at big stars in the industry, without caring whether anyone was on her side or not.
While many prefer to maintain a cautious silence, she has been applauded by many for her strong stance on sensitive subjects. Her ability to call out the layers of misogyny and oppression in society led us to believe that she was the symbol of feminism in Bollywood. With the tag of an outsider, Kangana had us at the word go, as she battled exclusion, exploitation and blatant sexism to get to the top. And she never hesitated to call out those who did her wrong.
We couldn't help but be awed by this fiery actress. She seemed to be the much-hoped-for catalyst of change in Bollywood.
And so, it comes as a terrible jolt to see Kangana laughing at a rape joke that Jim Sarbh cracked at the Cannes International Film Festival this year. "I'd rather be raped by 12 prostitutes than touch alcohol and the Punjabi says 'Me too, I didn't know that was an option'," he says in a video that's going viral on the net. The joke had Kangana and the rest of the party in splits.
The inanity of the joke aside, it used rape as a punch line. And we're living in a world where the awareness of sexual harassment and rape has never been as strong as it has been before. One would've thought that the MeToo and TimesUp campaigns would've made some impact on these mindsets.
Let's go back a bit. Remember when Salman Khan had compared the arduous shoot of Sultan to rape in 2016? Kangana had spoken out against him and had said, "We all agree that it is a horrible thing to say; it is something which is extremely insensitive," she had said at the time.
"Feminism is a movement that has to take over the world. A movement can only be successful when it is global. Anyone should be able to be a part of it. Two years ago, 'feminist' was a shameful word. Since then, women, collectively, have fought cases, put their careers at stake, and risked everything to make this word ambitious. A woman should be allowed to talk about sexual assault even 50 years after it happened, even from her deathbed, because then the exploiter will be scared that one day she might remember it and write a memoir," she had said at an event.
So, when did rape become a joke? And this too, to an actress who has suffered different forms of abuse from a certain actor, as she had once said. We had respected her because she represented a beacon of hope to women, who realised that they didn't have to tolerate any form of abuse or exploitation. That they could also say, "Time's up."
So is feminism just the latest trending word to her, to gain admirers and fans? Is it just for the films and to be splashed about at events?
It seems so. Because, what is most basic about feminism seems to be missing in people like Jim Sarbh and Kangana today. It's not about just "openly advocating women's rights" and thinking that your job is done. One should realise that it's also just plain common sense, and that rape is something that just can't be joked about.
While many prefer to maintain a cautious silence, she has been applauded by many for her strong stance on sensitive subjects. Her ability to call out the layers of misogyny and oppression in society led us to believe that she was the symbol of feminism in Bollywood. With the tag of an outsider, Kangana had us at the word go, as she battled exclusion, exploitation and blatant sexism to get to the top. And she never hesitated to call out those who did her wrong.
We couldn't help but be awed by this fiery actress. She seemed to be the much-hoped-for catalyst of change in Bollywood.
And so, it comes as a terrible jolt to see Kangana laughing at a rape joke that Jim Sarbh cracked at the Cannes International Film Festival this year. "I'd rather be raped by 12 prostitutes than touch alcohol and the Punjabi says 'Me too, I didn't know that was an option'," he says in a video that's going viral on the net. The joke had Kangana and the rest of the party in splits.
The inanity of the joke aside, it used rape as a punch line. And we're living in a world where the awareness of sexual harassment and rape has never been as strong as it has been before. One would've thought that the MeToo and TimesUp campaigns would've made some impact on these mindsets.
"Feminism is a movement that has to take over the world. A movement can only be successful when it is global. Anyone should be able to be a part of it. Two years ago, 'feminist' was a shameful word. Since then, women, collectively, have fought cases, put their careers at stake, and risked everything to make this word ambitious. A woman should be allowed to talk about sexual assault even 50 years after it happened, even from her deathbed, because then the exploiter will be scared that one day she might remember it and write a memoir," she had said at an event.
So, when did rape become a joke? And this too, to an actress who has suffered different forms of abuse from a certain actor, as she had once said. We had respected her because she represented a beacon of hope to women, who realised that they didn't have to tolerate any form of abuse or exploitation. That they could also say, "Time's up."
So is feminism just the latest trending word to her, to gain admirers and fans? Is it just for the films and to be splashed about at events?
It seems so. Because, what is most basic about feminism seems to be missing in people like Jim Sarbh and Kangana today. It's not about just "openly advocating women's rights" and thinking that your job is done. One should realise that it's also just plain common sense, and that rape is something that just can't be joked about.
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