Raveena Tandon, Tanushree Dutta to discuss legal recourse for survivors of sexual abuse in a session to be broadcast online
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 12, 2018)

Having been among the first to back Tanushree Dutta for kick-starting Bollywood's own #MeToo movement, Raveena Tandon had used social media to urge people to speak up in her favour.

"The deafening silence on #TanushreeDutta case is sickening," she had written in one among an array of posts that further highlighted the murky world of Bollywood's sexual predators. In a bid to take the conversation around the subject further, the actor will join Dutta in a live chat from the Facebook office on Monday. Among the matters that will be discussed at the session - set to air on the social networking platform - include the lack of professional ethics in the industry, legal recourse for victims, and how the movement is abused by women who make false claims.

In a chat with mid-day, Tandon reveals that she hadn't expected the conversation around abuse to emerge into a movement. "The problem was more rampant in the '90s, when I [was active]. Sexual harassment isn't something that can be swept under the rug anymore," she says, pointing out that the issue plagues women across industries. "Men cannot have the power to throw out women from movies. Also, women shouldn't misuse this [issue]. We need a fair set of rules that comply with the Vishakha guidelines [promulgated by the Supreme Court in 1997 and superseded in 2013 by the Sexual Harassment of Women act]. I am glad Tanushree got the support she did," adds the actor.

Although she didn't brush aside questions on harassment after Dutta accused Nana Patekar of misbehaviour on a film set, Tandon says she did not face a similar encounter with the actor when she worked with him in her career. "But, I was always difficult to mess with. I am not willing to compromise. I could scare people off easily. But, I did lose a lot of work. There are no rules in the industry. The '90s was dominated by the heroes. It was messy because of the involvement from the underworld too."

Asserting that media trials will not lead to justice for the survivors, Tandon adds, "Legal action must be taken. Industry guilds must swing into action."