Filmmaker Ajay Bahl’s Section 375 sparked a lot of conversations about the #MeToo movement and the cases where men were wrongly accused of sexual crimes. Starring Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra and Rahul Bhat, the movie completes six years today. On the film’s anniversary, Manish Gupta, one of its writers, spoke about it and its subject in an interview with us.
6 years of Section 375: Writer Manish Gupta on the film’s relevance today, “Laws in India continue to be heavily gender-biased”
Do you feel the MenToo movement got side-lined?
Absolutely, the MenToo movement about men’s rights never got the momentum that it deserves. Laws in India continue to be heavily gender-biased. The new laws under BNS and BNSS have brought in many reforms, but a man still remains vulnerable to a mere verbal complaint filed by a woman.
So, what is the solution?
The problem actually lies in the socio-economic and cultural diversity of India. In rural India, such laws are needed because abuse of women is rampant in rural interiors. Rural women are still subordinate to a patriarchal system and hence very vulnerable and unprotected from exploitation. But in urban cities, women are very independent and as powerful as men are. That gives people an opportunity to misuse these laws to fulfil their ulterior motives like extortion, vengeance, settling disputes, etc
Manish, Section 375, which you wrote, resonates with a lot of men who have been accused wrongly of MeToo crimes
I’m thrilled that my film Section 375 has completed six years. The film has achieved cult status over the years. I still get messages from people who’ve just seen the film on OTT and are deeply influenced by the sensitive subject that it tackles, which is very relevant in our society today where gender-biased laws are destroying lives, careers and families.
The film had a resonant impact
My labour of love Section 375 is considered one of the best courtroom dramas ever made in India. Today, filmmakers wanting to make a courtroom drama film often refer to Section 375 as a benchmark and view the film to understand how an authentic and realistic courtroom drama should be made. What could be a better compliment than that?
How much research on men’s harassment actually went into the film?
I’d spent three years researching the subject; visiting courts, sitting in innumerable court hearings, meeting many lawyers, rape-accused men, rape survivor women. Looking back now, I feel satisfied that all the hard work has really paid off, and my vision about this sensitive issue has been immortalized in the public domain forever through the medium of cinema.
Also Read: Richa Chadha and Akshaye Khanna’s Section 375 to re-release in theatres
More Pages: Section 375 Box Office Collection , Section 375 Movie Review
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