India\u2019s leading film festival struck several controversial films from its lineup to make room for female-directed features and address a mood of change. But will it halt harassment on set?<\/p>\n
I<\/span><\/span>ntroducing the recent series opener of India\u2019s top-rated talk show, Koffee With Karan, the director-producer-personality Karan Johar championed Bollywood\u2019s new-found \u201cgirl power\u201d: 12 months of successes \u2013 such as the taut spy thriller\u00a0Raazi<\/a>\u00a0and the raucous bridal comedy Veere di Wedding \u2013 that were led and authored by women. His guests, accordingly, were distaff royalty: reigning queen Deepika Padukone, newly radiant after surviving\u00a0January\u2019s trial-by-fire film Padmaavat<\/a>, and beaming princess Alia Bhatt, Raazi\u2019s immensely talented young lead. Reclined on Johar\u2019s Nortonesque couch, Bhatt was offered a cuddly Sophie\u2019s choice between her much-Instagrammed cats and beau Ranbir Kapoor; Padukone raised a suggestive eyebrow after asked what she first notices in a man.<\/p>\n If the show\u2019s peppy tone was enjoyable, it felt strangely removed from the grim claims emerging on social media from women occupying the film industry\u2019s lower ranks. India\u2019s #MeToo movement \u2013 initiated in early October and gathering rapid pace online \u2013 cast a looming shadow over this week\u2019s\u00a0Jio MAMI Mumbai film festival<\/a>, the event\u2019s 20th. As creative director Smriti Kiran told me at the festival\u2019s bustling Juhu hub: \u201c#MeToo started to escalate two weeks before the festival, and we are one of India\u2019s leading festivals, so everybody was looking at us. They wanted us to take responsibility.\u00a0We\u00a0<\/em>wanted to take responsibility.\u201dSleeves were duly rolled up, red lines established. Two features and three shorts were struck from the programme after allegations were levelled against key creative personnel; another feature, the critically admired Balekempa, was withdrawn by producers following an anonymous Facebook post that accused writer-director Ere Gowda of sexual assault. At last Thursday\u2019s opening ceremony, set against the majesty of old Bombay\u2019s towering Gateway to\u00a0India<\/a>, festival director Anupama Chopra apologised to \u201call the people we have disappointed\u201d while hoping \u201cthat the decision we took, to stand with the women who have raised their voices, will lead to an environment that is constructive, inclusive and just\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very, very, very hard decision,\u201d says Kiran. \u201cI\u2019ve used three verys because it can\u2019t be emphasised enough how sad it was for us. Once we took our initial decision of dropping [the first two titles], we had to apply the same metric to everything else \u2026 [but] we needed to take that stand, because we needed everyone to wake up and take notice.\u201d At the very least, the withdrawals created space for debate. Film-maker Ruchi Narain was enlisted to curate four workshops on industry conduct; one featured advocate Asiya Shervani walking delegates through India\u2019s arcane, rarely applied sexual harassment law.<\/p>\n