The Hindi film industry have condemned the brutal assualt on two women in Manipur, a clip of which was circulated online earlier today. The two were completely stripped and paraded naked on the streets and allegedly molested by a group of men. Actors contested the incident and asked the government to attend to this issue at first.
Director Vivek Agnihotri penned down a poem and said “I am sorry” for failing the people, actor Soni Razdan appealed that the government must ‘attend to Manipur’.
On Twitter, Sonu Sood wrote, “Manipur video has shaken everyone’s soul. It was humanity that was paraded… not the women (broken heart emoji.”
Vivek Agnihotri tweeted, “MANIPUR: Moplah, Direct Action Day, Noakhali, Bangladesh, Punjab, Kashmir, Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Bastar and now Manipur… Every time our innocent mothers and sisters become the ultimate victims of inhuman, barbarian acts. As a Bharatiya, as a man, as a human being, I am shattered each time. I am ashamed. I am so guilty for my helplessness.”
The poem read: “O Manipur, I tried… I tried… but I failed.
All I can do now is tell their tragic stories through my work. But it’s too late by then.
We are all victims of selective and hyper- competitive electoral politics.
We are victims of hyper-religion.
We are victims of dangerous media.
We, the people of Bharat, are victims.
There is no #RightToLife in free India. And we can’t do anything about it.
This is not the freedom I want.
This is not the kind of democracy I want.
It’s worth nothing if it makes us bay for each other’s blood.
We are a failed society.
I am sorry, my sisters.
I am sorry, my mothers.
I am sorry, Bharat Mata.”
Sanjay Dutt took to Twitter and condemned the action, “The video portraying violence against women in Manipur was shocking and sickening. My utmost hope is for the culprits to be punished with the utmost severity, sending a clear message that such despicable actions will not be tolerated in any circumstance.
Soni Razdan quoted on Twitter, “Before any one does anything about anything – ATTEND TO MANIPUR first. This is an earnest plea on behalf of the people of Manipur who are being brutalised including women in the most terrible manner @PMOIndia @rashtrapatibhvn @GovtOfIndia_.”
Kiara Advani tweeted, “The video of violence against women in Manipur is horrifying and has shaken me to the core. I pray the women get justice at the earliest. Those responsible must face the most SEVERE punishment they deserve.”
Riteish Deshmukh wrote, “Deeply disturbed with the visuals of the atrocities against the women in Manipur… I am seething with anger… no man should go unpunished for such crime. Attack on the dignity of a woman is an attack on humanity itself.”
Vir Das questioned the authorities in why no action has been taken yet over the viral video. “When horrific incidents occur make no mistake, through the system, our leaders are IMMEDIATELY aware. When months later videos go viral, Twitter is aware. If leaders only then respond, it’s to Twitter, not horrific incidents. They care about online outrage, not real people,” he wrote in a tweet.
Singer Sona Mohapatra wrote Twitter, “No words can express the horror I feel upon reading the news about the women in Manipur. Chokes my voice & crumples my heart.”
A film critic wrote on Akshay Kumar’s tweet on Manipur violence which read, “If @akshaykumar can speak against injustice then why other actors can’t speak? If you can’t speak against injustice then you shouldn’t call yourself representative of people.” Akshay wrote earlier in a tweet “Shaken, disgusted to see the video of violence against women in Manipur. I hope the culprits get such a harsh punishment that no one ever thinks of doing a horrifying thing like this again.”
