Was Harassed on Many Fronts: Kangana on Working in B’Wood, #MeToo

The actor claims to have faced several instances of toxic behaviour during her career.

Kangana Ranaut at a promotional event for Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi.

(Photo: Yogen Shah)

Kangana Ranaut says she was harassed several times by actors on film sets and while it wouldn't fall under #MeToo as it wasn't sexual, the experience was daunting and humiliating.

The actor said harassment can happen on several levels and she has faced toxic behaviour from many people in her career. "Harassment happens on many levels. So many times on sets, I wasn't sexually harassed, but some people had ego issues. I was harassed on many other fronts. It wouldn't come under #MeToo but it was still harassment," Kangana told PTI.

The actor said the harassment ranged from making her wait for long hours to dubbing her voice without her consent.

Talking about her harrowing experiences, Kangana said, “Making me wait on set for six hours, willingly giving me wrong call time to make me stand, always giving me the wrong set of dates so I’m missing out on opportunities and then cancelling the schedule last minute by these heroes. Ganging up on me and not inviting me to film events, launching trailers without me and then someone else dubbed for me without even telling me, which is violating the basic right of taking permission from an actor.”

The Queen star said because of the #MeToo movement, which hit India last year, men in the industry are scared. "People are scared, obviously and they should be. Men are scared in the industry. This isn't going to stop. This will continue till we really go into the root cause of it because essentially it's a patriarchal society which is extremely chauvinistic.

“We need to come to a point where they are scared. All the talks of ‘what if women lose work’ should stop. I believe there’s no life without dignity. You shouldn’t worry about raising your voice.”

Kangana Ranaut on #MeToo

The actor had come out in support of the survivor when allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against Queen director Vikas Bahl. Kangana said going forward strict rules and immediate action policy should be implemented to make film sets safer for women.

"On film sets there have to be strict rules and strict action should be taken. Things can't be solved on a personal level or behind closed doors. Things should be taken to authority and immediate action is the need of the hour.

"When anyone raises concern, people — director, producer or anyone — need to solve it. We need to become more sensitive about these things," she said.

Kangana will be next seen in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. The much ambitious period drama features her in the titular role and has been directed by Krish and Kangana. The film releases on 25 January.