Mumbai: Actor Vidya Balan believes women
avoid talking about the sexual harassment they face in
workplaces out of fear of being judged.
While Hollywood has been rocked by a massive scandal
after allegations against powerful producer Harvey Weinstein
became public, in India, prominent actors such as Irrfan Khan
and Richa Chadha have spoken about facing casting couch in the
beginning of their careers.
Balan believes sexual harassment is not just limited to
the entertainment industry.
"Women never had the courage to talk about sexual
harassment as invariably the finger would be pointed back at
them. Which is why, I think whether sexual harassment or rape,
women have always found it difficult to talk about it," she
says in an interview with PTI.
"It exists in every industry. Here (in entertainment
industry) it gets written about. The film industry is a part
of the society. Here it gets amplified and that is the only
difference."
The 38-year-old actor says even in Hollywood many
powerful people remained silent about sexual harassment
initially.
"In the West, it has happened to powerful and successful
people and they did not do anything about it. So you think, 'I
am not the only one (facing it)'. But people have started
talking, revealing things."
Vidya says she has always walked away from people she
felt uncomfortable with as acting was not something that she
relied upon for her bread and butter.
"Walking away was my defence mechanism. I could walk away
because I had a home to go back to. I had family, I had food
on my plate and I had nothing to worry about. Lot of people
have circumstances that are different."
The actor says though she never resorted to any
compromise to get work, she does not judge those who have.
"As a woman, you have the sixth sense and instinct. No
one has asked me for a coffee. If I went to have coffee with
someone, it was because I wanted to go.
"I felt it was below my dignity to get work in any other
way. I don't judge others who had to use any sort of means as
everyone's circumstances are different."
Her next release is "Tumhari Sulu" that hits theatres
on November 17.
