Make it your own

Last week, as the #MeToo movement gathered more steam with countless other women calling out their harassers and molesters, one such post took us back to a time when we worked for television. In her detailed post on social media, this woman, a former colleague of ours, and now a popular casting director for Hollywood films, had outed a leading actor from the Malayalam film industry. She recalled her harrowing time as a 20-year-old crew member on the sets of a regional TV quiz show. His actions were reported to her boss who promptly flew her out of the city.

As soon as she posted that account, massive support poured in from all quarters. Colleagues, past and present, and friends applauded her for her guts, and saluted her bravery. Many others who had outed big names, also joined in. But, this is where things took an ugly turn. All of a sudden, certain tweets began to insinuate that she was trying to jeopardise the 'fair' name of the actor who is now a politician. This was coming from a space where it was alleged that she was playing politics since her former boss [the one who sent her home] is also a politician from a rival party. Our jaw dropped.

This gutsy woman - someone I've worked closely with for three years - and known to speak up, drafted a hard-hitting reply that shut these pests up for good. But, this episode relayed the dark side of what is turning out to be a truly liberating revolution for women in this country.

We jogged our memory to that time when we were part of the research team for live quiz shows. It was a male-dominated zone. From the spot boys to sound technicians, it was testosterone central. Women like us were in a minority. The entire crew [even some of us who were Bombaywallahs] along with outstation students would stay in the same hotel in the city. There were occasions when we'd shoot for a week at a stretch, wrapping up an entire season's episodes in one go. It often felt like bootcamp, with strange men all around - creeps who would show up for no reason as we sat alone in the green room, crosschecking questions for the next episode; crude, sexist remarks would flow freely across the floor, and privacy was non-existent. We'd seek comfort and strength from our colleagues but beyond a point, we were on our own, fending for ourselves against these nameless, shameless creatures who formed the 'unit'.

We had to be alert 24x7, more so when the camera wasn't rolling; it was the biggest unsaid rule to be followed in such an uncontrolled environment. Looking back, numerous cases like Tanushree Datta's could have easily happened across sets everywhere, and worse, gone unreported. Our experience on the television set was a huge learning curve.

What one has been trying to spell out in this space, through our column from last week and this one, is that the change in mindsets is the critical starting point of a churn. It's a time where despite the flood of outrage pouring from all sides, questions are still being raised about the survivor raising the alarm; from men, and unfortunately, women, too. That, added to the sense of entitlement and patriarchy that the male continues to exhibit, is the root of this societal fungus.

Women from every industry and profession ought to speak up. Only then will this become a movement and not just a moment when India's modern history is being chronicled.

mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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