Konkona Sensharma, who plays a UK doctor facing allegations of workplace sexual harassment in her new film ‘Accused’, believes that while some good has come out of the #MeToo movement, many perpetrators continue to thrive.
‘Accused’, directed by Anubhuti Kashyap and also featuring Pratibha Ranta of ‘Laapataa Ladies’ fame, follows the story of a same-sex married couple whose lives are upended by a scandal.
Sensharma’s character, a celebrated doctor in London, is accused of sexual misconduct by her colleagues at the hospital. As scrutiny intensifies and public opinion hardens, the film explores the strains put on her closest relationships and how quickly perception can take hold when certainty is out of reach.
The actress said the landmark Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed rampant harassment in the industry, was a major thing to come out of the movement. However, many perpetrators didn’t suffer any consequences.
“It’s just a very unfortunate situation. This is the reality we all know. We know the people who have been accused. We can see so many of them thriving. A lot of that is actually dependent on us, on all of us as a society, who we choose to work with, whose work we want to watch, how many opportunities we give these people,” Sensharma told PTI in an interview.
Konkona added, “The Hema committee has brought out a report. How many people have actually read it? How widely has it been circulated? Some good things may have come out of it, in terms of infrastructure, some committees and structures have been put in place on a film set or in any work environment. But ultimately, what comes of it, a lot of it depends on us and how we deal with it as a society.”
Kashyap said they showed the film to a few champions of the movement in India, also, just to get their feedback and what they feel about the film. She now hopes the film continues with the dialogue that the movement started.
“Most of them liked the film and appreciated it, but it was very difficult to watch for them purely because something good is happening there in the film. Hopefully, with this film, more people will get some courage to keep the movement going,” Kashyap said.
The director said the essential change the #MeToo movement brought was the implementation of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) and better infrastructure on film sets. “Some good has happened because some of these structures have been put in place. Some people have found the courage to repeatedly come out with their stories, which is very, very hard. So, that’s the good thing. Unfortunately, it did fizzle out a little bit. But I hope the good of it stays and grows,” Kashyap said.