Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 15, 2018)

After Producers Guild of India and the Screenwriters Association, who have set up anti-harassment committees in the wake of #MeToo in Bollywood, 11 women filmmakers have joined hands to lend support of the movement.

Alankrita Shrivastava, Gauri Shinde, Kiran Rao, Konkona Sen Sharma, Meghna Gulzar, Nandita Das, Nitya Mehra, Reema Kagti, Ruchi Narain, Shonali Bose and Zoya Akhtar, released a joint statement on Sunday. “We are here to spread awareness and to help create a safe and equal atmosphere for all in the workplace. We have also taken a stand to not work with proven offenders. We urge all our peers in the industry to do the same,” the statement read.

Lipstick Under My Burkha director Alankrita feels that #MeToo has come to India as a cry against a system that has failed women. “It is about social change against toxic masculinity and normalised misogyny. I think we all felt the need to let the women in the industry know that they are not alone and ended up reaching out to each other to make it happen. It is a shout-out to our peers to come together to create a more equitable film industry. The Women in Cinema Collective is already doing some fantastic work in the Malayalam film industry. I hope that we can work towards forming a solid network of female filmmakers who can be a voice of change,” she said.

Dear Zindagi director Gauri Shinde is positive that more women filmmakers from across the country will join in and make it a substantial movement, while Ruchi Narain who has written Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and directed Kal: Yesterday and Tomorrow, told Mirror, “Too many men have abused their power to prey on, assault and intimidate women for too long. We want to add our support to the voices of these women and others who are yet to come forward, so they feel empowered and safe in their lives and jobs to stand up for themselves. The balance in the business needs to change and move towards equal opportunity.”