With an FIR for rape lodged against character actor Alok Nath, writer-director Vinta Nanda’s fight for justice has been taken forward to the next level.
“Actually, the FIR was lodged on Tuesday. The media got wind of it on Wednesday morning and all hell has broken loose. And I mean that in a good way. If it wasn’t for the media, my fight for justice would never have come so far. I am lucky to have such invaluable support from my friends, my family and from media persons, who have put their trust in my fight. I feel blessed,” says Vinta gratefully.
Is she ready for a long lonely legal battle ahead? “Firstly, it’s not a lonely battle. I have my mother, family and several close friends with me. As for the legal battle ahead, I am very well armed and equipped. Three of the brightest young lawyers of Mumbai — Dhruti Kapadia, Faranaaz Kharbhari and Kunal Tiwari are fighting my case free of cost. They believe in my fight. Today, I can dare to face a legal battle without fearing the financial burden,” says Vinta with a sense of victory.
She feels that the #MeToo movement has helped awaken the nation’s conscience regarding their responsibilities as citizens. “There is just no room or tolerance for inappropriate behaviour anymore,” says Vinta, adding that her fight for justice is not her own. “There are so many women out there who have been raped, molested, harassed, eve-teased. Men who thought troubling women was their birth right have been forced to reconsider their patriarchal definitions of gender relations. What seemed ‘normal’ to them earlier will land them in serious trouble now. And they know it. That’s the difference!”
Vinta is surprised at how Alok Nath refuses to acknowledge the wrong that he has done. “He is brazening it out, when he should have apologised. Instead, he got his wife to speak on his behalf. That is so sad. In our society, women still feel that standing by their husbands, no matter how wrong they are, is their dharma. Men take advantage of this unconditional spousal support.”
But Vinta is still willing to forgive Alok if he apologises. “I was never in this for revenge. I want correction, not revenge. Show some remorse, show some sign of repentance. Let me know that no other woman will be violated by you the way I was. All I see right now is an attitude of defiance and shamelessness. If that’s the way it is going to be, then I’ll see my fight for justice to the end.”
