Vidya Balan on sexual harassment: I have never had that experience but I admit I have always been on the cautious side
Vidya Balan talks about the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal.
The Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal has caused an uproar on social media where women are coming out on the open talking about the times where they have faced sexual harassment.
However, we also get to see how many are very uncomfortable even now while talking about sexual harassment.
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When Vidya was quizzed on the same by a leading daily, the actress stated, “Yes, it’s because women have always been told that, ‘It’s your fault’. Women are told not to wear short skirts and go out. And if we do, we are told, agar kissi ne haath lagaya, toh jaake mat bolna.
We are told that we are the temptresses and we have provoked the men. There have been instances where even in rape cases, the woman has been blamed. Often, when a marriage doesn’t work, the tendency is to question the woman.
Of course, today things are changing. I know that in a lot of cases, families say things like, ‘She was not adjusting enough. She was more focused on her career’. Talking about this case (Weinstein), imagine this happening in Hollywood, where you would think that with the kind of success and power they have, the women wouldn’t keep quiet. If someone propositioned me, I would kick him where it hurts.” Talking about her personal experiences and how she stays cautious, Vidya added, “I have never had that experience, but I will admit that I have always been on the cautious side. If I ever feel that someone is not giving me that comfortable vibe, I walk away from there. Coming from a family that had no film connections, I was always scared. Initially, when I had to audition for advertisements, my mom would accompany me.
Later, when I started doing films, she realised that it’s about how you handle yourself and by then, I had a team with me (make-up and hair staff), so I felt comfortable. In the beginning, I was always wary; in fact, I would never socialise with people or make friends at work. I think it stemmed from the fear that maybe if you are too friendly, people would misconstrue it. You don’t want to be in a situation where you think that a man propositioned you because you were over-friendly or over-familiar. I remember what had happened with John Abraham and me. I would keep laughing a lot with him, and we got along very well. Eventually, everyone thought that we were having an affair. So, on set I am friendly, but beyond that I still don’t socialise much."
Meanwhile, on the work front, Vidya is currently immersed in the promotions of her soon-to-be-released movie, Tumhari Sulu in which the talented actress plays the role of an RJ.
Tumhari Sulu is slated to release on November 17, 2017.
