Music maestro A R Rahman, who previously maintained silence on the #MeToo movement in India believes that the campaign has the power to make the entertainment industry cleaner and respectful of women.
The 51-year-old Oscar-winning composer, shared his thoughts on the movement in a note posted to Twitter, which read, “Been observing the #MeToo movement… Some of the names have shocked me… both the victims and their perpetrators… I would love to see our industry become cleaner and respectful of women… More power to all the victims coming forward!”
He continued said, “In all my endeavours, my team and I are committed to creating an environment where everyone finds a safe creative space to bring their best, evolve and succeed.”
Rahman concluded: “Social media offers great freedom for victims to speak up, however we should be careful in creating a new internet justice system, in case it’s misused.”
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) October 22, 2018
A R Rahman’s statement comes weeks after his long-time collaborator Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu was accused of predatory behaviour by multiple women.
India’s #MeToo movement propelled and gained traction after actress Tanushree Dutta revived a decade-old allegation of harassment against Nana Patekar, accusing him of sexual misconduct on the sets of a 2008 film Horn Ok Pleasss. Following Tanushree’s allegations, several prominent members of the Indian film industry including Vikas Bahl, Alok Nath, Subhash Ghai, Sajid Khan have been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women.