Malaika recently talked about the #MeToo movement in India in the light of Tanushree Dutta, who had accused Nana Patekar of harassing her on the sets of the 2008 film Horn 'Ok' Pleassss and later sending political party goons to intimidate her. During a recent media interaction, Malaika talked about creating a "safe work environment" and said that the only way to achieve is if women "call out the supposed perpetrators," reports news agency PTI. Malaika told PTI: "We can keep talking about it that we want to work in a safe environment but the only way we can achieve that is when we talk about it and actually call out the supposed perpetrators. That's the only way."
The 44-year-old actress also talked about how women need to "talk" about their problems openly. "If someone is violating your space, dignity, life, if you won't talk no one will know. Every time you step out of the house you can't be in the fear that oh my God my work space is going to be a hell whole. We need to change this," PTI quoted her as saying.
Malaika also talked about how the entertainment industry is a "tricky" place to work in and that women who are a part of the film industry or modelling are often "perceived as easy" and that needs to "change." Malaika added, "There are tons of opportunities in front of you. A lot of people feel it's very easy just because they wear a short skirt or drink and smoke, they label a girl. Apparently that's what makes her easy for anybody to prey on. That mentality needs to change. She's a woman and that's her choice to do what she wants."
Celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Freida Pinto, Sonam Kapoor, Renuka Shahane, Pooja Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra, Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan added their voices to the swelling chorus of support for Tanushree Dutta.
On the work front, Malaika Arora currently features as a judge and a host on the fourth season of television reality show India's Next Top Model. Besides that, she recently featured in the song Hello Hello from Vishal Bhardwaj's Pataakha.
(With inputs from PTI)
