Bengali actor Ritabhari Chakraborty gave a personal account of her experience in relation to the Hema Commission report that unearthed casting couch syndrome in the Malayalam film industry.
The actress, who addressed the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Facebook, also asked for a similar commission of inquiry to be set up by the state government like the one in Kerala.
As per She said, “I hope there is an investigative process like Hema Commission’s report that would call out sexual predators in Bengali films. They were either similar to my own experiences or those of other actresses I know.”
She exclaimed, “What good is it doing us if we can’t offer young girls entering this business with dreams anything besides a sugarcoated whorehouse?”.
The actress while addressing Ms. Banerjee requested, “@mamataofficial we want a similar investigation, report and reform.” While not explicitly stating who these people were, she accused some elements within the sector of engaging in inappropriate conduct and urged them to expose themselves.
“They are not only actors and actresses in the field of entertainment, they also produce and direct movies with dirty mindsets and acts, but they are working unpunished. They were seen standing by the RG Kar’s victim holding candles as if they ever regarded women as something more than flesh,” she added.
She said, “Let’s expose these men.” “I am calling out to my colleagues to stand up against these animals.” “You think that you will lose a role or be never cast because most of them happen to have power. But how long should we keep our silence?” she asked.
She made a passionate appeal to the Chief Minister when she tweeted, “@mamataofficial didi – We need an inquiry like this for our industry now.”
“No! We don’t want another rape case or assault before anyone can take us seriously at last. Being in show business doesn’t give any man the license to view us as merchandise or their targets for satisfying their power or sexual desires,” she said.
Among Bengali film actress Ritabhari has acted in films like Chotushkone (2014), Once Upon a Time in Kolkata (2014), Bawal (2015), Fatafati (2022) etc..
A senior Bengali actor, Sreelekha Mitra had only just recently accused a famous director of Malayalam for making unwanted sexual advances towards her.
In response to yet another question, the Parami was told by Ms. Mitra that she is aware of similar charges being levied against some directors in the Bengali industry although she has not experienced it herself in Tollygunge.
“I will advise those actresses who have suffered such experiences to talk about it without keeping quiet. Don’t be scared of someone’s power and influence. If you are violated somewhere, gather strength to oppose it,” said Ms.Mitra.
