#MeToo is final awakening of Indian women: Mahesh Bhatt

Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt on Tuesday opened up about the ongoing #MeToo movement and said that it is the final awakening of the Indian women.

Speaking to ANI, the 'Aashiqui' director said, "I see #MeToo as a final awakening of the Indian women where she says 'enough is enough'. Indian women are different and she is now is reaching out for skies which were denied to her. A woman is much bigger than what you caged her into."

He further said that this problem cannot be solved through courts because these are moral issues of our culture where we have to look at ourselves and ask is we respect the women who we pray in our temples.

 

"Unless a man confronts his own double standards and corrects his own inner feelings, one cannot solve the problem by policing it or by making a noise through by #MeToo movement, " said the 70-year-old.

Talking about the condition of women in the nation and not just the film industry, he said that the problem is just not restricted to the film industry, it is spreading all over. "Entertainment industry should welcome and support movements like these but also give the person who has been accused the right to be looked upon as innocent until he is proven guilty. But unfortunately, in the age of social media, so much harm is done. You will find that the accusations were not true and it will do an irreversible damage," said the veteran.

Concluding his statement, Bhatt said that the #MeToo movement cannot be dismissed by terming it elite.

"However, it may seem it is the movement of our women who have felt violated, but it is not only the movement of all the women of India but outside the country too," he explained.

Bhatt's comments come in the wake of the #MeToo movement gaining pace in India with a number of women from varied fields allegation harassment and sexual misconduct at the hands of men.

Bollywood celebrities like Tappsee Pannu, Pooja Bhatt and Sonam Kapoor, among others, have also spoken in support of the movement.