Without taking any names, director-actor Farhan Akhtar today reacted to the much publicised Hrithik Roshan-Kangana Ranaut fiasco, saying the people and the media should not jump to conclusions or "discriminate" on the basis of gender.
The 43-year-old star, who has acted with Hrithik in "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" and directed him in "Lakshya", said he does not have the authority to decide "who is right or wrong" but believes it was necessary to comment on the situation.
"I agree that in our society, more often than not, it is the woman who suffers injustice and repression. It is horrifying but true that in some cases of rape, a section of society has blamed the victim. I have always found this to be unacceptable.
"... Although it is true that in most cases it is a woman that has been wronged, there is a difference between 'most' and 'all'. However, few and rare they may be, there have been cases where men have been stalked, harassed and falsely accused... It is in this spirit of objectivity and fairness that today I must speak up," Farhan wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.
The "Wazir" actor said he is not happy with the way the media has dealt with the episode, only presenting one version of the story.
"They've accepted her story at face value. Isn't this discriminating against the other party? For a moment, let's put aside emotion, prejudice, biases, our understandably protective instincts and look at the facts as they exist today."
Farhan said while Hrithik has been cooperating with the Cyber Crime Department by submitting all necessary information and documents, the "woman has avoided submitting personal communication devices" till date.
According to reports, Hrithik received explicit emails from Kangana's account and Farhan said, "If a woman was to receive these sort of emails from a man and she claimed harassment, what would your immediate reaction be?
"Would you have given the man the benefit of doubt by believing him if he said they were in a relationship and she had hacked into his computer and sent herself the mails...? Chances are you wouldn't."
Farhan urged people not to pass judgement without knowing the truth.
"The reason I felt the need to say this is that it is apparent that some people have already jumped to conclusions while some are deriving some sort of voyeuristic pleasure by encouraging the woman to carry on speaking.
"This is being done without a seconds pause to consider the effect her words will have on the person, his family or his children. As great as all of it may be for TRP, it's in terrible taste," he added.
Farhan said people "must avoid vilifying the man on the basis of unsubstantiated statements."
"... Let's not discriminate," he concluded.
While Kangana has been vocal about the matter since past one year, Hrithik had not gone public with his side of the story until recently after the Roshans decided to file a complaint with the Cyber Crime Department.
The 43-year-old star also took to social media to present his version.
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