The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder-president Kamal Haasan said women were coming out with "a problem" and if the accusations needed to be examined, it should be done
Chennai: Actor-politician Kamal Haasan has spoken on the raging #MeToo storm in the country. On Monday, he urged everybody not to single out cinema industry in relation to sexual harassment allegations.
"Don't single out the cinema industry. We have to understand it (sexual harassment) is prevalent in all fields," he told reporters at the airport here.
When such charges are being levelled, both sides should be heard for their versions, he added.
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Actor Tanushree Dutta had recently levelled sexual harassment charges against veteran star Nana Patekar, with the incident being billed as the starting point of the Indian #MeToo movement, which originated in Hollywood in the US.
Subsequently, a host of celebrities, including Alok Nath, Subhash Ghai, Rajat Kapoor and Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu, besides serving and former journalists like Union minister MJ Akbar have been charged with sexual harassment by a number of women.
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The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder-president said women were coming out with "a problem" and if the accusations needed to be examined, it should be done.
It was now widely believed across the world that if such things came out in the open, there would not be any future harassment, he said.
To a query, Haasan said he said he is opposed to caste and that this was reflected in most of his films.
On repeatedly being targeted by the ruling AIADMK, including its ministers, over a number of issues, Haasan said “this shows I am progressing in the right direction”.
The actor-politician has been often critical of the K Palaniswami government on various issues, including corruption.
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