Manish Gupta who wrote the first MeToo film Section 375 in Hindi long before the MeToo movement began, speaks out on the need to protect men from false charges of sexual harassment during an exclusive interaction with Zoom.
Excerpts from the interview
Manish, Section 375 which you wrote is today more relevant than ever?
I am proud that my film Section 375 has had a long-lasting impact not only on Indian cinema but on Indian society as a whole. The film held a mirror to the shocking fact that 80 per cent of all rape cases filed in India are fake. This is an ironic situation given the high number of genuine rape cases in India. Genuine rape survivors are the worst affected by fake cases because each fake case casts a shadow of doubt over the testimony of a genuine rape survivor.
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Was it tough writing the script without pointing accusing fingers at real people?
The experience of scripting the film was an exhausting one, I’d got the idea many years ago when actor Shiney Ahuja was arrested for allegedly raping his maid. I was visiting Shiney’s house regularly interacting with him and his wife Anupam Ahuja, since I was supposed to do a film with Shiney at that time. When Shiney was arrested, that film obviously couldn’t get made, and I started scripting ‘Section 375’ based on Shiney’s case.
How long did it take you to complete the screenplay?
It took me three years to write the script during which I carried out rigorous research. The research was key to the script. I attended 180 court case hearings across lower courts in Mumbai and also at the Bombay High Court. There are three courtrooms specially reserved for only rape cases at one of the lower courts in Mumbai. Yes, the number of registered rape cases is that high in Mumbai alone. At these courts, I met many criminal lawyers, judges, court staff members, rape survivors, accused rapists, many of who were innocent. My interactions with these people largely contributed to the script.
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Do you feel Filmistan needs its own Hema Committee?
Yes, while Bollywood needs its own Hema committee to curb sexual harassment of women, Bollywood also needs its own Dharmendra committee.
What do you mean?
To protect men from fake accusers! The misuse of sex as a weapon is rampant in Bollywood. Men use their power and influence to gain sexual favours from women, but women also use their sexual charm as a bargaining chip to get cast in a particular film or to gain entry into a particular camp. “Taali ek haath se nahin bajti”. There needs to be a body in Bollywood that protects innocent people from both genders from the malafide intentions of a person from the opposite gender.