Dear Aamir Khan please remember that ‘With great power comes great responsibility’

In the past few months, we have seen the ‘Me Too’ movement reaching its highest and unfortunately its lowest point as well. While a movement like this was the need of the hour in our male-dominated industry. But what everyone forgets is that this industry is indeed a male-dominated one, so naturally, if these men’s position is at stake then they won’t leave any stone unturned to nip such movements it in the bud.

‘Casting couch’, ‘compromise’ and the barter system of ‘Ek hath do Ek hath lo’ has been prevalent in this industry since time immemorial. After staying silent for ages, it was only until last year when the survivors formed the courage to call it ‘Time’s Up’ and use their voice to unmask these holier-than-thou men.

But as they say, the road to justice is never smooth, the ‘Me Too’ movement also faced several hurdles and is still grappling with it. At first, almost all the alleged molesters are rehabilitated in their workplace again, whereas the women who outed them are finding it difficult to continue their fight for justice. Some of them have even voluntarily chosen to back out from the cases. Because unfortunately, our system has always failed our women.

Last year the movement shook the Hindi film industry and unearthed its ugly side once again. And it was superstar Aamir Khan to led the Bollywood brigade in boycotting alleged sexual offenders until their name gets officially cleared in the case filed against them. Aamir, who was supposed to star in Subhash Kapoor’s directorial ‘Mogul’ backed out from the film after a molestation case filed against him by the actress Geetika Tyagi resurfaced.

Aamir was not only supposed to star in the film but also produce it. But he decided to back out of it and had even issued a statement which read, “At Aamir Khan Productions we have always had a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual misconduct and predatory behaviour of any kind.”

Here’s his full statement

https://twitter.com/aamir_khan/status/1050068184995426306

Aamir’s move was welcomed by everyone and soon we saw others following the suit and disassociating themselves from alleged offenders. The actor’s decision paved the way and also gave support to women who felt the courage to share their ‘Me Too’ story.

However, a few days back Aamir reversed his previous decision and has now decided to come back to Subhash Kapoor’s ‘Mogul’. This indeed sparked a debate with some talking in the favour of Aamir’s decision and others slamming the actor for not practising what he preached a year back.

Citing the reason why he decided to work with Subhash, Aamir said he couldn’t sleep at night thinking about how his actions have deprived a person of earning his livelihood. The actor reasoned out that since Subash has not been declared guilty he has all the rights to work.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, the actor went on to share that he along with his wife Kiran Rao interacted with some of the women who have previously worked under Subhash. And since all of them spoke very highly of the filmmaker, Aamir decided to come back to the film.

Of course, Aamir’s statement drew flak from the netizens and its shocking how he is trying to justify his decision. I absolutely get it that no accused is guilty until proven in the court of law, but I fail to understand what power Aamir has been bestowed with to give a character certificate to Subhash. Geetika Tyagi has gone by the books. She has filed a complaint and even gathered video evidence against Subhash. So now by rehabilitating Subhash aren’t we letting Geetika down?

Ever since the actress filed the case, she has been struggling to get work offers. Why is no one’s heart bleeding for her? Why Aamir couldn’t take her side of the story in consideration as well?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwCxdE8nmq_/

Aamir is one of the most influential people in the industry, so of course, his decision will have a huge impact on the movement. And in itself is heartbreaking. For the longest time, I have always thought that if there’s one actor who is sensitive enough to use his stardom consciously then its Aamir.

 

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A post shared by Aamir Khan (@_aamirkhan) on Jan 16, 2019 at 10:25pm PST

His choice of films (barring a few) reflected his intelligent quotient. The actor has always backed stories that are not only entertaining but are also powerful and socially relevant. The actor even backed shows like ‘Satyamev Jayate’ where he addressed some of the most pertinent social issues. And that made him my real hero. After all in this age of stardom and reputation management who cares about issues which are not affecting them in any way. Aamir earned people’s respect by supporting causes that were the need of the hour. So if there’s one actor I have always looked up to then it was him. But I was heartbroken with the recent turn of events.

 

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Hey guys, you can watch the repeat telecast of the #SatyamevJayate episode on alternate sexualities, on Sunday 4th Nov at 11am as part of the #KhulKeBaat series on @starplus

A post shared by Aamir Khan (@_aamirkhan) on Oct 30, 2018 at 6:37am PDT

Aamir, we know that Subhash Kapoor has not been declared guilty yet but then he has neither been acquitted as well! Now for how long his case will run in the court of law, we don’t know but until then he will always be an accused. So if everyone decides to work with these alleged sexual offenders just because they have not been proved guilty then what’s the point of women outing their molesters?

We all strongly condemn false accusations. And in order to help men stuck in such situations, we all should push for a system where such cases are heard out and solved at the earliest instead of randomly deciding which side to bat for. So Aamir, if you are genuinely concerned about either party’s (victim and accused) right to livelihood, then perhaps you can use your power to initiate a movement which makes our system to deliver justice at the earliest. I hope your heart and conscience has the courage to face Geetika and other such women who thought that Me Too movement will bring them justice.

Aamir, you have the resources, you can simply help the women who are struggling to prove their molestors guilty. No one from the film industry came forward saying they will bear the legal expenses of the survivors seeking justice in Me Too cases. But almost every other A-lister has been giving some or the other stupid reason to work with alleged sexual offenders! First, it was Ajay Devgn working with Alok Nath in ‘De De Pyaar De’, then Hrithik Roshan starring in Vikas Bahl’s ‘Super 30’.

Aamir, I hope that your conscience is equally aware of the ripple effects your actions will have if you don’t walk the talk. As your fan, all I am requesting you to do is that you have the power so please use it responsibly.

Also Read: Why Bollywood’s ‘colour-coding’ formula is not only offensive but ridiculous

Pooja Sharma

Cinephile. Bibliophile. Pluviophile. Selenophile. Autophile. Aesthete. Blood group- Tea positive. Poetry lover. Sucker of rom-coms.

PS: Sharmaji ki Ladki sucks at writing bios.
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