#MeToo: Javed Akhtar Comes Out In Support Of Rajkumar Hirani
Veteran screenwriter Javed Akhtar is the latest from Bollywood to come out in defence of filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, calling him the most decent person in the industry.
Veteran
screenwriter
Javed
Akhtar
is
the
latest
from
Bollywood
to
come
out
in
defence
of
filmmaker
Rajkumar
Hirani,
calling
him
the
most
decent
person
in
the
industry.
Hirani
is
the
latest
name
to
be
called
out
for
sexual
harassment.
She
detailed
her
allegations
in
an
email
dated
November
3,
2018,
to
Hirani's
frequent
collaborator
and
Sanju
co-producer
Vidhu
Vinod
Chopra.
Akhtar
took
to
Twitter
to
offer
his
support
to
the
embattled
director,
who
has
categorically
denied
the
allegations.
"I
had
come
to
the
film
industry
in
1965.
After
the
many
years,
if
I
am
asked
who
the
most
decent
people
are
in
this
industry
over
almost,
perhaps
the
first
name
that
will
come
to
my
mind
is
RAJU
HIRANI.
GB
Shaw
has
said.
'It
is
too
dangerous
to
be
too
good,'" the
screenwriter
wrote.
Hirani,
known
for
his
message-driven
dramas
such
as
Munnabhai
series,
3
Idiots
and
PK,
has
been
accused
of
sexual
assault
by
a
woman
who
worked
with
him
on
his
2018
film
Sanju.
In
an
article
on
HuffPost
India,
the
woman,
who
calls
herself
"an
assistant",
alleged
that
Hirani
sexually
abused
her
more
than
once
between
March
and
September
2018.
She
detailed
her
allegations
in
an
email
dated
November
3,
2018,
to
Hirani's
frequent
collaborator
and
"Sanju"
co-producer
Vidhu
Vinod
Chopra.
The
filmmaker,
in
a
statement,
called
the
allegation
false,
malicious
and
mischievous,
which
has
the
sole
intention
of
destroying
his
reputation.
While
the
industry
has
largely
been
silent
on
the
latest
#MeToo
case,
Hirani's
previous
collaborators
Arshad
Warsi,
Dia
Mirza
and
Sharman
Joshi
have
batted
for
the
filmmaker.
Arshad,
who
found
critical
acclaim
and
love
for
his
portrayal
of
Circuit
in
Hirani's
"Munna
Bhai"
series,
described
the
filmmaker
as
a
"polite,
nice
and
correct"
person.
"I
find
it
wrong
to
condemn
somebody
without
proper
proof
or
investigation.
I
would
like
to
know
the
credibility
of
the
accusation.
Till
all
that
is
clear,
I
feel
it
is
not
right
to
accuse
someone.
I
believe
in
innocent
until
proven
guilty,
not
the
other
way
around.
Unfortunately,
we
just
jump
to
conclusions,"
Warsi
told
PTI.
Dia,
who
worked
with
Hirani
on
films
Lage
Raho
Munna
Bhai
and
Sanju,
said
she
was
'deeply
distressed' by
the
allegations
as
the
director
was
someone
she
respects
a
lot.
The
actor
said
she
hopes
a
due
official
enquiry
is
conducted
in
the
matter.
"I
am
deeply
distressed
by
this
news.
As
someone
who
has
known
and
respects
Raju
Sir
for
15
years
I
can
only
hope
that
a
due
official
enquiry
is
conducted.
He
is
one
of
the
most
decent
human
beings
I
have
ever
worked
with
and
I
think
it
would
be
grossly
unjust
on
my
part
to
speak
on
this
as
I
do
not
know
the
details.
"As
for
the
#MeToo
movement,
it
rightfully
encourages
women
to
speak
up
and
seek
due
process,"
Dia
told
PTI.
Sharman,
whose
portrayal
of
Raju
Rastogi
in
Hirani's
blockbuster
"3
idiots"
became
immensely
popular,
hoped
the
phase
the
director
is
going
through
currently
will
pass.
"Raju
Sir,
is
a
man
of
immense
integrity,
character,
honour,
compassion
and
truthfulness,
all
the
virtues
one
would
imagine
are
non
existent
in
people
today,
someone
I
am
absolutely
inspired
by
and
have
learnt
from
and
because
of
whom
I
believe
I
have
gone
onto
being
a
better
person.
"All
I
want
to
say
is
that
this
too
shall
pass
and
I
can
imagine
how
demeaning
it
might
be
to
even
stand
up
for
yourself
in
a
situation
such
as
this,"
the
actor
told
PTI.
Sharman
had
also
offered
support
to
the
filmmaker
on
Twitter,
using
the
#IStandForRajuHirani.
India's
#MeToo
storm
has
engulfed
many
a
stalwart
such
as
Nana
Patekar,
Alok
Nath,
Vikas
Bahl,
Sajid
Khan
and
former
Union
minister
M
J
Akbar.