Avoid vilifying the man on the basis of unsubstantiated statements: Farhan on Hrithik-Kangana row

Mumbai: After erupting in early 2016, the controversy between Hrithik Roshan and Kangana regarding their alleged affair has worked out like a suspense thriller, if you call it that.

So much has happened in the ‘Hrithik Roshan-Kangana Ranaut row’, as it has been termed, that a lot of people are confused and have forgotten the head and tail of the controversy.

For such people needing a quick recap, Farhan Akhtar's Facebook post on Sunday could be a good idea to learn in very few words what the controversy is all about.

A matter which seemed done and dusted before Kangana went on a rampage in her interviews during the promotions of ‘Simran’, took a fresh turn when Hrithik, in a span of a few days, wrote a social media post and gave an TV interview on the matter, both for the first time.

And Farhan, his co-star from ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ and ‘Luck By Chance’, not just came out in support of his close friend, but also spoke about gender discrimination in the ways the society sees accusations of a man against a woman as compared to the latter accusing the former.

Talking about his experience working against gender discrimination through his organisation MARD, he said that it was woman who was wronged most of the times, but there have been enough instances of men being stalked, harassed and falsely accused as well.

In the most logic-based manner, he explains how along with his complaint, Hrithik had submitted all his electronic devices and documents, but on the other hand, Kangana has refused to do so, which Farhan calls 'lack of cooperation' considering it is the best way to prove her claims.

He also questions the logic behind Kangana's claims that Hrithik hacked into her account and sent those ‘intimate and sexual’ emails to himself.

He also reiterates Hrithik’s views expressed in his recent statement regarding their ‘intimate’, ‘photoshopped’ picture and their alleged engagement in Paris in January 2014.

He also blamed the media for believing Kangana’s story at face value and for jumping to conclusions. He slammed those who were deriving some sort of 'voyeuristic pleasure' by encouraging the woman to carry on speaking, which might be great for TRPs, but was in terrible taste.

His basic point behind the post is the discrimination we, as a society, practice in viewing accusations by a woman against a man vis-a-vis vice-versa.

He expresses how it was unlikely people would give Hrithik the benefit of the doubt if Kangana claimed to have received such emails from him and he then claims she had hacked into her own account and sent those mails to herself.

He repeatedly states that none of us knows the truth and that it could be brought to its logical conclusion by the authorities, but till then it was important to avoid vilifying the man on the basis of unsubstantiated accusations.

Farhan's post:

Farhan’s post comes close on the heels of Hrithik’s neighbour, writer Twinkle Khanna tweeting, and others like Sonakshi Sinha, Tiger Shroff, Arjun Kapoor, Yami Gautam, Pooja Hegde among others ‘liking’ his recent social media post.