A Bollywood icon was accused of sexual assault. The response was chilling.

By Mili Mitra
Digital producer and writer
January 17 at 1:35 PM

It was too good to be true.

That was the reaction of so many of us Indian women as we watched the nation’s #MeToo movement getting traction last year — and apparently, we were right. For all of the progress made in the past few months in discussing sexual harassment, the underlying culture that blames survivors and protects abusive men remains intact.

This week, famed director Rajkumar Hirani — who directed “3 Idiots,” one of the most successful Hindi films of all time — was accused of sexual assault by a woman who worked with him on his latest film. The accuser, who has remained anonymous, says that Hirani sexually abused her on multiple occasions between March and September 2018, according to Huffington Post India. Vinod Chopra Films, which produced the movie, has set up an investigative committee and vowed to look into the complaint. (Hirani has denied the allegations, calling them “false, malicious and mischievous.”)

Hirani is just the latest name in a long list of Bollywood celebrities accused of harassment or assault. India’s #MeToo movement began when actress Tanushree Dutta accused former co-star Nana Patekar of sexual harassment on a film set in 2008. Her testimony sparked a moment of reckoning in the Indian entertainment industry — as more and more women came forward with accounts of abuse, the movement brought down a number of well-known writers, actors and directors and even led to the dissolving of an acclaimed production company. It seemed that women were finally being heard, and that the industry and the country were finally ready to take accusations seriously.

But the general reaction to the accusations against Hirani reflects the same pervasive attitudes that have existed for decades. Instead of voicing concern and calling for an investigation to uncover the truth, many stars have come out to express unconditional support for Hirani.

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