I Was Pinched on My Butt Amidst a Group: Kangana Ranaut

Kangana Ranaut narrates her experience of being sexually harassed.

Actor Kangana Ranaut.

(Photo: Yogen Shah)

After her appearance on a roundtable with Rajeev Masand, Rani Mukerji was torn apart on social media for her views on the MeToo movement. Rani suggested that women should learn martial arts and therefore protect themselves from men. She was slammed as it seemed like she put the onus on women and not on men.

However Rani has found a supporter in Kangana, the Manikarnika actor told DNA, “I feel this (the MeToo movement) is not going in the right direction, because of the message we’re giving to young girls. Like recently, Rani Mukerji was attacked because of her views on a show. It’s sad to see that a woman was getting bullied and trolled for the cause of women’s empowerment.”

Maybe Rani was not able to articulate herself, but if you see the way she leads her life, she is the epitome of women’s empowerment. Anyone who knows her wouldn’t find her weak or timid. There are people who talk a lot, but they don’t necessarily live up to it. She’s definitely one of those who lives up to it. So, that is scary about this whole thing.

Kangana Ranaut

“Expecting another person to make sure that I am safe is not the right attitude. If I had thought like that at 16, God knows where I would be. Maybe I wouldn’t have been alive. How can you expect another person to rescue you or be responsible for your safety? You don’t understand the dynamics of crime,” said Kangana.

Kangana narrated her own experience and said,

I was pinched on my butt in the middle of a group and that person was right there, looking at me. It was not even sexual, it was like ‘I did exactly what I was not supposed to do’. And looking me in the eye like ‘what are you going to do now?’

Kangana Ranaut

She added, “So, what do you expect? I think somewhere we should tell the girls that there are a few rules. Don't say ‘maybe,’ when you want to say ‘no’, it's important. Your safety doesn’t mean you can do Taekwondo and Karate. It also means you go to someone who can save you; it may be a teacher, an uncle you trust, a friend, or the Mumbai Police, or go to the media, find a journalist and expose them. So, to tell them this and then get severely trolled for it, is horrible.”

Kangana will be seen next in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, which will release on January 25.

(Source: DNA)