Huma Qureshi believes #MeToo campaign won’t happen in Bollywood as senior actresses don’t speak up

The campaign that started last year, had Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, amogn others sharing their stories of sexual abuse.

While several actors have talked about sexual and power harassment in the industry, no one has taken any names from Bollywood. And the main reason why something like a #MeToo campaign may never work in the Hindi film industry is, that senior actors haven’t spoken about it, Bollywood actor Huma Qureshi says. She insists the #MeToo campaign worked in Hollywood mainly because a lot of senior female actors came forward with their stories of sexual harassment, something which has not happened in the Hindi film industry.

Mumbai: Actress Huma Qureshi at the special screening of film "Race 3" in Mumbai on June 14, 2018. (Photo: IANS) (IANS)

The campaign, which sparked off a movement in Hollywood late last year, top actors like Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, along with people from other walks of life shared their stories of sexual abuse.

In contrast, only a handful of Bollywood stars have spoken about sexual harassment prevalent in the industry and that too without taking any names.

Asked if it was disheartening that the movement never arrived in Bollywood, Qureshi says, “It’s not going to happen (in Bollywood) and the reason is, it worked in Hollywood because a lot of senior and respected actresses spoke about it. That’s what really gives the #MeToo movement a lot of momentum. I really hope and pray it happens in India. But I feel we should not wait for this campaign to happen just in the film industry, it should happen in all walks of life.”

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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