The #MeToo movement became a watershed moment in history by bringing to light accounts of sexual harassment and misconduct at the workplace. However, five years after it first gained prominence, consequences faced by the accused remain remarkably different between the Indian film industry and Hollywood.

While reports by American media speak of how men accused of #MeToo struggle to find work, closer home, things haven’t changed much for celebs accused of harassment. Latest case in point being filmmaker Sajid Khan’s participation in the reality show Bigg Boss 16. Ever since the news first emerged, social media has been abuzz with people calling the makers out for their disregard towards the survivors, who had shared their #MeToo accounts against Khan in 2018.

Actor Tanushree Dutta, who became the torchbearer of the movement in India after speaking up against actor Nana Patekar and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, calls Khan’s entry into the show a “cheap publicity stunt” and a “desperate attempt” by makers to revive interest in the show.

Among the several women who accused Khan, was actor Mandana Karimi, who claimed that he had asked her to remove her clothes during a meeting for his film Humshakals (2014). In a recent interview with us, Karimi said she is not shocked that he is back in the limelight without any repercussions. “For people, life has become like, ‘If it is going to benefit me and I can make money, who cares?’ That shows why #MeToo movement in India and many other countries didn’t really reach anywhere,” Karimi, who has decided to bid adieu to Bollywood as a result, said.

But, this is not the first instance that such an uproar has been created over an accused facing no repercussions. National Award-winning singer Chinmayi Sripaada, who was among several women who named Tamil lyricist and poet Vairamuthu of sexual harassment. feels that such incidents make the process of coping with the trauma of abuse, tougher. “It does further the trauma. But, what can you do? My molester is the favourite nationalist Tamil boy. He continues to get a platform. So many women, who call themselves feminists, get clicked with him,” she says.

Sripaada, however, expresses hope that things will change. “I know when I came out, it was incredibly freeing... Change doesn’t happen instantly. I see men who have taken a step back after this movement, and looked inwards, trying to unlearn things. I think things will change, but they will take time,” she says.

Singer Neha Bhasin, who had spoken up against singer-composer Anu Malik in 2019, says such incidents do not undermine the accusations. “Why should I care about the verdict of a society that is okay with people accused of harassment getting important projects, as if nothing ever happened? It is their shame; those who decide to work with them and continue to be seen with them. They, in no way, undermine whatever any of the victims have said about the accused before,” she says.

Although the #MeToo wave first reached India in 2017, as it did in many other countries following the high profile cases in Hollywood, it became prominent only a year later in 2018, after actor Tanushree Dutta opened up about her account, accusing actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment.

That interview served as the prompt for multiple others, who spoke out against high profile names in the industry. Some of those accused included filmmakers Rajkumar Hirani, Vikas Bahl, Subhash Kapoor and Sajid Khan, singers Anu Malik and Kailash Kher, and actors Alok Nath and Rajat Kapoor.

However, nearly all of those who have been accused, continue to get work in their respective fields. Social media outbursts from several pro feminist and #MeToo handles, and countless online petitions, have all fallen on deaf ears as makers continue to offer projects and positions of respect and importance to the accused.

Allegations against the composer first emerged when singer Sona Mohapatra accused him of referring to her as “maal”. Shortly after, singer Shweta Pandit opened up about being sexually harassed by him when she was 15. The alleged incident took place in 2001, when Pandit visited Empire Studio in Mumbai’s Andheri for an audition. Malik denied the allegations. While Indian Idol removed him as a judge after an uproar in 2019, he got back to the seat, a season later.

A journalist accused the filmmaker of assaulting her and exposing his genitals while she was interviewing him in the early 2000s. Another woman alleged that he harassed her in 2011 when she was working as his assistant director. Several others, including actor Mandana Karimi recounted being assaulted by the filmmaker. While he stepped down as the director of Housefull 4 (2019), Khan is back as a contestant on a reality show.

A crew member accused filmmaker Vikas Bahl of assaulting her during the filming of Bombay Velvet in Goa in 2015. Actor Kangana Ranaut, too, has accused him of sexual misconduct. Bahl sent legal notices to his former business partners, filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane for making “defamatory allegations” against him. Following this, he worked with actor Hrithik Roshan in the film Super 30 (2019) and more recently, directed Goodbye, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rashmika Mandanna.

Writer and director Vinta Nanda accused actor Alok Nath in 2018 of raping her in the 1990s. Subsequently, actors Renuka Shahane, Himani Shivpuri, Sandhya Mridul, Deepika Amin and an anonymous Hum Saath-Saath Hain crew member have either admitted to knowing about Nath’s predatory behaviour or written about their own experiences. Nath has denied the allegations and filed a defamation case against Nanda, with his wife’s support. He featured in two films Sonu Ke Teetu Ki Sweety (2018) and De De Pyaar de (2019) after the incident.

Actor Nana Patekar was accused by actor Tanushree Dutta, making him the first prominent name to be highlighted in the #MeToo movement in the Indian film industry. He denied the allegations and tried to drag her to court as well. Two years later, he starred in the film It’s My Life, alongside Harman Baweja and Genelia Deshmukh. Patekar is reportedly gearing up for his next release, The Confession.

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“The law and order in the US is strong. So, the people have that support. We need to strengthen our system like that. Everyone needs to come together in solidarity in India to eliminate such crimes. Industry veterans, production houses and seniors need to be more responsible not to send such a horrible message to society.”

“Incidents like these are a glaring reflection of the deep-rooted patriarchy. People might get richer and buy expensive cars, but the mindset remains the same. Women are held accountable on the basis of morality, while men are not held accountable to the same standards. Everyone is out to character assassinate a woman. And that’s why the consequences will be different here. The fact that it is acceptable, that someone can get to work after such incidents, just cements my thoughts about India being a patriarchal society.”

“There are people who agree to compromise and keep their mouths shut, or not talk about the things happening around, thinking what difference will one person make? That is the main problem... It was just a few women, they came, they spoke and that was it. Where is the action? Who is boycotting these people? Nothing is going to happen. The industry is a place were someone is someone’s mum, boyfriend, girlfriend or husband. It’s like, you scratch my back, and I will scratch yours.”

“There are not many Harvey Weinsteins (disgraced producer) in the world, who get what the deserve. Even to women in the West, their system tells them that they do it (speak up) for cheap publicity, fame or money. In India, things are even difficult because it happens on a very deep rooted cultural level, which has gone on for generations. Even in regular households, women who suffer abuse are told to adjust and keep shut or not talk about it, while the people who do the deeds, are invited to family functions and what not. But all is not bad, I do see things changing and men wanting to unlearn things. That’s the most important step, I believe.”