Randeep Hooda talks about sexual harassment at the workplace in his TV show
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 15, 2017)


Randeep Hooda’s MTV show Big F Season 2 will explore sexual harassment at the workplace, inspired by two real life incidents involving TVF founder Arunabh Kumar and ScoopWhoop co-founder Suparn Pandey. The headline-grabbing subject will be showcased through the story of a small town intern, Kiara — who moves to Mumbai to live her dream — falls in love with her boss, Samrat (played by Viraf Patel) and life soon becomes hell for her.

“It surprises me how in today’s day and age, women fall prey to sexual harassment at the workplace. Being in a position of power does not give men the authority to prey on someone for their own pleasure. Ditto, the women. Women who feel violated should definitely stand up for themselves without worrying about the consequences of voicing their concern. Only a woman can help herself and men should be warned that now, with this being discussed openly, they can no longer get away with it,” says Randeep.

He admits that one often hears about such incidents but is never sure about the complete story. So, he believes a fair and independent enquiry should be launched, taking on-board all the parties and their versions of the event.

“It’s a double-edged sword and can also be misused for a vindictive purpose, so clear guidelines should be put forth to everyone in the organization about what constitutes objectionable behaviour at the work place and whom to contact if someone steps over the line. Your being right or wrong should not be based on gender and position. It varies from individual to individual and from case to case,” he points out.

Bringing such issues to the forefront is something the actor feels strongly about and believes that women should be encouraged to talk about such issues without the fear of losing their job or self esteem. “If you don’t talk, it will only encourage the perpetrator. If someone is harassing you, bring it up with the management instead of feeling helpless and victimised,” he asserts.