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You feel preyed upon in Delhi
Actor Rati Pandey, who has been shooting in the city, had no option but to slap a bouncer because he tried to act fresh with her
Divya Pal
Having shot the show "Hitler Didi" for over a month in the walled city of Old Delhi, jam-packed Azad Market and other congested areas, actor Rati Pandey has got used to male gaze. That's why she wouldn't have been shocked had bystanders passed strange comments or glared at her for no reason. But she was stunned when the bouncer, who was supposed to shield her from fans, tried to misbehave that too in Chandni Chowk. Rati had told us earlier how while shooting in the same area, a bystander while sipping tea, made a rather spiteful comment, 'Aaj chai bahut garam hai". "I was numb for a minute and didn't know how to react," she was earlier quoted as saying.
But this incident shocked her. The matter took an ugly turn when she confronted the bouncer and insisted that he shouldn't try to touch her again. "We were shooting for a sequence wherein I had to board a bus from Chandni Chowk. Each time I got down from the bus, the bouncer held my hand as if he was trying to help me reach the other side of the road. I ignored it twice, but when it continued, I asked my director to intervene. When it was repeated, I couldn't control myself, removed his hand and hit him because I knew it didn't happen by accident. Matlab log aise hi nahin karte yeh sab," she says. What surprises her is the fact that no punitive actions have been taken against the bouncer. "He is still a part of the crew. He hasn't been asked to leave, I don't know why? But I have been assured that such an instance will not be repeated," she says.
A few weeks back when Rati with co-star Gargi had gone to Palika Bazaar to shop, the experience was, as expected, dehumanizing. "Pata nahin kyun, lekin woh log hotein hain na, fukre type, humko aise dekh rahe the jaise hum kuch alag dikh rahein hon. I mean, we weren't even wearing body-hugging clothes. Is there a way to hammer decent thoughts into the minds of men in Delhi? It takes just one look to understand how men think here. Are they are conditioned to disrespect women? In our case, it is the image we build on the screen that makes men feel they can do anything to us and get away with it. Lekin hum sirf actors nahin hain, normal log hain. We too slog to do justice to our work." Is there a message she has for women in Delhi who experience this virtually every day? "Create a scene, yell, and make people around know if someone tries to misbehave. Don't take anything lying down," she explains.
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/sk ... 1025361062
Actor Rati Pandey, who has been shooting in the city, had no option but to slap a bouncer because he tried to act fresh with her
Divya Pal
Having shot the show "Hitler Didi" for over a month in the walled city of Old Delhi, jam-packed Azad Market and other congested areas, actor Rati Pandey has got used to male gaze. That's why she wouldn't have been shocked had bystanders passed strange comments or glared at her for no reason. But she was stunned when the bouncer, who was supposed to shield her from fans, tried to misbehave that too in Chandni Chowk. Rati had told us earlier how while shooting in the same area, a bystander while sipping tea, made a rather spiteful comment, 'Aaj chai bahut garam hai". "I was numb for a minute and didn't know how to react," she was earlier quoted as saying.
But this incident shocked her. The matter took an ugly turn when she confronted the bouncer and insisted that he shouldn't try to touch her again. "We were shooting for a sequence wherein I had to board a bus from Chandni Chowk. Each time I got down from the bus, the bouncer held my hand as if he was trying to help me reach the other side of the road. I ignored it twice, but when it continued, I asked my director to intervene. When it was repeated, I couldn't control myself, removed his hand and hit him because I knew it didn't happen by accident. Matlab log aise hi nahin karte yeh sab," she says. What surprises her is the fact that no punitive actions have been taken against the bouncer. "He is still a part of the crew. He hasn't been asked to leave, I don't know why? But I have been assured that such an instance will not be repeated," she says.
A few weeks back when Rati with co-star Gargi had gone to Palika Bazaar to shop, the experience was, as expected, dehumanizing. "Pata nahin kyun, lekin woh log hotein hain na, fukre type, humko aise dekh rahe the jaise hum kuch alag dikh rahein hon. I mean, we weren't even wearing body-hugging clothes. Is there a way to hammer decent thoughts into the minds of men in Delhi? It takes just one look to understand how men think here. Are they are conditioned to disrespect women? In our case, it is the image we build on the screen that makes men feel they can do anything to us and get away with it. Lekin hum sirf actors nahin hain, normal log hain. We too slog to do justice to our work." Is there a message she has for women in Delhi who experience this virtually every day? "Create a scene, yell, and make people around know if someone tries to misbehave. Don't take anything lying down," she explains.
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/sk ... 1025361062
