Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; April 17, 2018)

Manoj Bajpayee is in Los Angeles these days, where his film Gali Guleiyan opened the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, recently. During the visit, the actor also met Hollywood actress Demi Moore. Manoj told BT, “Demi Moore is supporting another film of mine called Love Sonia. This film deals with trafficking of women, which is a huge issue across the world. A screening of the film was organised for the entire team, which is where I was introduced to her. We talked about the movie and our respective careers.”

Ask him how a social evil like the trafficking of women can be curbed and the actor replied, “Governments all over the world will have to come together to deal with this social evil. Women are being traded for sexual pleasure, and it’s pathetic and condemnable. The strictest of punishments need to be given to the perpetrators, which will act as a deterrent. The way the drug trade has been curbed the world over; this global problem should also be dealt with in a similar way.”

While many women are lured into the sex trade unbeknownst to them, India has also witnessed an alarming rise in the number of rape incidents being reported. In fact, many celebrities have openly spoken about and condemned the ghastly Kathua and Unnao cases. Manoj says, “The Kathua and Unnao rapes manifest the dark side of our society. As a community, we should condemn it vehemently. I feel that we have not come together and protested against sexual crimes aggressively, our voices have to be much louder. People have to speak out against this heinous crime.”