Remember how Zareen Khan had spoken up about a director having asked her to 'rehearse a kissing scene with him'? Yes, it was in the middle of the entire #MeToo movement back in the second half of 2018 and new cases were emerging every day. Cut to two and a half years down the line, has there been any justice? How did such a movement lose its steam?
We asked the same during an exclusive interview with Zareen Khan and she opened her heart out. “It’s unfortunate, I would say. Somehow in our country movements come with so much force and everybody is talking about it, and then I don’t know how they die down in no time and people forget about them. Whether it’s the #MeToo movement or the brutal rape case of a girl, everyone is putting out posts and taking out marches around that time. And then something else happens, or maybe there is some award function happening or some big party of somebody, and everything is forgotten and people are more focused on who’s worn what,” Zareen points out.
“I don’t understand this thing that why people get so easily distracted from the real issue and how come such important issues die down in our country with no concrete conclusions. That was my question even back then when the entire #MeToo movement was happening. Everyone was out and everybody was talking about it and every day you were getting to hear more and more about it, but soon after there was Diwali, I guess, and people started having parties. People entirely forgot about the #MeToo movement, and people were just seen at Diwali parties on social media and everyone was talking about who went to whose party, who wore what, and who went with whom,” the actor adds. The actor stresses the need to be more focused as responsible citizens towards important and serious issues rather than just treating it as a come and go.
When prodded about how no one got punished in the whole movement, she bursts out: “Exactly, right! That was exactly my question at that time. Like what happened? The movement had come out with so much force and so many people came out, showed courage to speak up finally. But what was the outcome? I honestly heard no outcome or anybody getting punished. Yes, a lot of people from the industry did take steps like not wanting to work with those people who were accused. But that was about it. Eventually in some time, #MeToo movement just died out. Now, every now and then we hear about it, but then it’s treated very lightly and it goes away...”
Zareen has been one of the very few actresses who have never shied away from talking their hearts out. She has always lent her voice to important matters and was one of the very few who had taken a strong stand during the entire #MeToo movement in India. Even after doing so much for the movement, when she feels exasperated and hopeless about how the movement turned out to be, imagine the plight of the people who actually spoke up and called out names.
