It can't be just a women's #MeToo: Vivek Agnihotri

Mumbai: Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, who last week alleged that his nephew from US fled Bollywood after being sexually accosted by a powerful name from the industry, said sexual exploitation is not common to any gender.

Agnihotri had revealed the incident in a tweet.

Explaining it, he said, "I tweeted in the context that it's not just women who are forced to compromise, that even young boys do go through the trauma. It can't be just a women's #MeToo."

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Agnihotri said there are many powerful sexual predators in the Mumbai film industry.

"If one tries to expose the Harvey Weinsteins of Bollywood, some very big empires and icons will fall down. My nephew was a victim of one of those. But who will fight their muscle? You need many Kangana Ranauts for that...."

He said the exploitation goes beyond sexual exploitation in the Indian entertainment industry.

"The entertainment industry has three kinds of politics, sexual politics, money politics and power politics. A desperate actor can become victim of any of these political games. Some people are forced to sleep around. Some are forced to invest money for a two-bit role. Some are just forced to give in to the power of the employer.

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"In all the cases, what is compromised isn't sexuality but the human dignity and the merit," Agnihotri added.

His comment comes in the wake of global movements like #MeToo and Time's Up, as part of which people have spoken out about being sexually abused by those in power. It began with accusations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

IANS INPUTS...