Rajkummar Rao on sexual assault and harassment: Women must speak out to change society

Actor Rajkummar Rao says that women shouldn’t think twice before voicing their opinion and that breaking the silence is the only way to teach a lesson to those people who’re like Harvey Weinstein.

Actor Rajkummar Rao feels that women must speak up if they face sexual harassment. According to the actor, only that can bring about a change in society.

Rajkummar Rao says women should speak out if they face sexual harassment. (Viral Bhayani/HT Photo)

“There’s no point in staying silent. Women must share what has happened to them; they should not shy away from voicing their opinion. Coming out in the open can only empower women. At the same time, it will help the law nab the culprits and punish them,” says the star of Newton (2017).

Sexual harassment and assault, endemic to every society, has become a full-blown scandal in Hollywood following the reports on producer Harvey Weinstein abusing his position. It’s a given that people in Bollywood have varying opinion on the topic — on how to deal with sexual predators.

Rajkummar believes that the time is right for women to come out in the open. “It’s very important [for women] to just put [their experience] out there for the world to take notice. That is the only way people like Weinstein would get scared and people having wrong intentions will also think twice before doing any such things in future,” says the actor, who is currently shooting for his horror comedy, titled Stree, which also stars Shraddha Kapoor.