Ananya Panday says it's important to do more than talk about crimes against women; changing laws is need of the hour

Ananya Panday and her Call Me Bae co-stars, Niharika Lyra Dutt and Muskkaan Jaferi talk about the current climate where crimes against women are in focus.

Call Me Bae actors Ananya Panday, Niharika Lyra Dutt and Muskkaan Jaferi spoke to PTI recently about the current climate where crimes against women are in focus. Ananya says women have historically faced “dark times”, but what has changed is that they have become more vocal about the issues today. (Read More: September 2024 web series: Call Me Bae, Gyeongseong Creature 2, Emily in Paris 4 Part 2, The Perfect Couple)

Ananya Panday on the need for systemic change

Ananya Panday spoke about crimes against women and the need for systemic change.

Asked about her views on the current climate where there have been many crimes against women as well as how they are treated in cinema, Ananya said though raising awareness is crucial, it must be accompanied by concrete efforts to bring about real change in society.

“It’s always been dark times for women, now we are just speaking about it a lot more. There’s one thing talking about it but the more important thing is doing something about it,” she told PTI, adding, “As women and as actors, we are doing our bit by educating the men around us in what they can do better in these situations and also speaking up for issues that are important.”

Ananya however said that there is a need for systemic change, especially through legislation. “The more important step is actually laws changing, and the government making actionable changes to this,” she added.

Niharika, Muskkaan on safety of women in film industry

“The problems in the film industry and disparity have always been the case. Now, people are talking about it, standing up against it, voices are being emboldened, and that’s wonderful because that leads to systemic change,” the Paatal Lok actor said.

She said that now there is an internal complaints committee on set and that the actors and crew's contracts include clauses against sexual harassment.

Muskkaan, who also stars in the series, said there are platforms for lodging complaints, an essential step in empowering women to speak out without fear.

“We have orientation (programmes) also, like there are strict rules in place for how to behave in a work environment. That is a big change. You can go and complain anonymously too,” she said.

Their comments come in the backdrop of the rape and murder of a Kolkata doctor and sexual assault on two kindergarten girls in Maharashtra's Thane, as well as the revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report on many instances of sexual harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.