bollywood director rape case

On 11 November 2009,  came a shocking decision for Mr Madhur Bhandarkar when a Mumbai Court convicted him for rape of Miss Preeti Jain. She alleged that she had sexual relations with the director. She was subjected to forced sex whenever she refused to do it consensually.

The credentials of the model turned actor Preet Jain are also doubtful. She had put similar allegations on composer. Moreover she was sent to jail for conspiring murder of Mr Bhandarkar.

This sexual scandal is connected with power and position rather than love and lust. The actress was denied the privilege of a leading role and she revenged the director with the case of rape. She took the defence that the relations were made by force and deceit and therefore she was protected by the Indian Penal Code under section 376 .

The decision may be woman friendly but the credentials of the case has to be looked into. If there was consensual sex it cannot be categorized as rape just because the aspirations of the actress were not fulfilled.

This is not the only case that involves bollywood and sexual harassment. The recent Shiny Ahuja case is even worse. In Bhandarkar’s case the model did have continuous consensual sexual relations with the director but in the other case, the maid was subjected to rape by her master. Fortunately the evidence was not destroyed as she did not cleanse her body before going to the police.

Time and again such incidents have occured in Bollywood. Mamta Kulkarni’s sister  had alleged Anupam Kher for molesting her. Rajesh Khana,  Aditya Pancholi and Jackie Shroff were framed in similar cases. Shakti Kapur who was shunned by bollywood after his sting operation is again into the showbiz.

People are concerned about rape victims till the case is discussed in media. When the media forgets an issue so do the people. The sufferers are the only ones who have to go through the legal system. The actors can easily escape through resources, influence and power but the victim is forced to live a life of destitute who is belittled by the paternal society for standing up against for herself. Societal norms are still against working woman.

Their harassment is always questioned and the answer often lies in her character. May be Preeti Jain was actually raped. It doesn’t make a difference whether she has or hasn’t acted in obscene videos. Why the character of women is taken into consideration when we form opinion about rape cases? Or the silver screen of image of Shiny makes us helpless to believe that he was guilty?

Celebrity should not be punished to set an example for efficiency of the Indian Legal System rather he must be punished if he has committed a crime. Just forming opinions about the accused and the victim would lead us no where.