About a year ago, the #MeToo movement first took off in Bollywood when actress Tanushree Dutta called out actor Nana Patekar for allegedly molesting her at a film set a decade ago. Since then, many women in showbiz have come out, speaking against such harassment.
"Man Woman #MeToo" is directed by Ashwin Rai Shetty, and the film traces the #MeToo movement across India, delving into the origins of patriarchy in the country, the magnitude of the problem and how each one of us has played a part in it as enablers, almost on a daily basis.
Psychiatrists, gender studies experts, lawyers, police personnel, and other specialists explain the reasons - the structures and the social conditioning behind different aspects of male privilege and what effect this sense of entitlement has on men, women, children, as well as organisations - through real life examples and case studies.
"The #MeToo movement was an eye opener for a lot of people in India. However, along with empowering women to call out their abusers, the movement also compelled us to reflect upon how easily we all become enablers of patriarchy, reinforcing dangerous behaviours which lead to the propagation of crimes against women. With 'Man Woman #MeToo', we hope our viewers will be able to understand how deep rooted the issue of patriarchy is, and what equality of genders means," said Megha Tata, Managing Director - South Asia, Discover Communications India.
The VICE Studios produced project will premiere on November 29 on Discovery Channel and Discovery Channel HD.
"On December 17, 2012, India woke up to the news of one of the worst ever reported crimes against women that the country had ever heard of. Everyone thought this incident was going to change the tide of crimes against women in India. But sadly, it fizzled out faster than it should have. It took six years after that for the #MeToo movement to give hundreds of women in India the courage to come out and speak up against the men who inflicted abuse on them. 'Man Woman #MeToo' unpacks the movement to bring out the devastating effects of patriarchy on a woman's daily life," said Samira Kanwar, Head of Content, VICE Asia.
( With inputs from IANS )