Farah Khan: Kangana Ranaut should stop playing victim card; for me, feminism means equality

Without taking any names, choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan reacted to the Hrithik Roshan–Kangana Ranaut controversy on 7 September, saying the Queen actor is playing a ‘woman card’. Farah said that for her, feminism meant equality and if a man would have made statements like Kangana, he would have faced the wrath of the society. When asked about her views on Kangana’s recent interview, Farah said in a media interaction, “I don’t want to take anyone’s name, I don’t want to get caught in between. But every time you are playing a woman’s card. For me feminism is equality. In such a scenario a man should put himself in a woman’s shoes and vice versa and then it becomes easy to understand each other. One should deal with such matters carefully.” [caption id=“attachment_3457556” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kangana Ranaut. Image from IBN Live[/caption] The Happy New Year director said both men and women should receive same treatment and judgement should not be made on the basis of gender. “Just imagine if a man had said something like a woman, what would have happened. If a man had sent a picture or said anything like this, that man’s life would have become hell or he might have been taken to the jail. If such things are not acceptable for a man, why it should be for woman?” she added. In a recent appearance on TV talk show Aap Ki Adalat, Kangana had said that Hrithik should apologise to her publicly for causing her trauma after their alleged relationship ended. But Kangana Ranaut seems to have earned the ire of people outside the industry too, for her comments. In the same interview, the actress stated that Congress politician Gurpreet Kaur Chadha had initially offered to help her deal with the legal battle involving Hrithik Roshan but later backed out because of the Roshan family’s clout and influence. The former general secretary of the Mumbai Regional Mahila Congress and her fellow members were called “saleable hypocrites” by Ranaut. “When I referred to Rakeshji [Roshan] and Hrithik as ‘bade log’, I didn’t intend to intimidate her [Kangana] like she is now suggesting. It was a simple comment,” she said to Mid-Day. She claims that Ranaut and her sister approached her due to her closeness to the Roshan family, and added that she decided to not get involved because of exactly this reason. She says that when she reached out to Rakesh Roshan, he said he would communicate only if Ranaut apologised. Upon informing Ranaut’s sister Rangoli about this, the latter replied by saying that the case now rested with the Cyber Crime Cell, and that they would pursue it. Rangoli now claims that she does not remember who Chadha is. Chadha claims that she asked both the sisters to file a written complaint, but to no avail. Ranaut claims that Chadha told her she was part of Maharashtra State Commission for Women — a claim that Chadha and commision president Vijaya Rahatkar both refute. Sheetal Mahatra, president of the Mumbai Regional Mahila Congress, says she was not made aware of the case. She also said that Chadha had not been part of the organisation for over a year, due to personal engagements. Meanwhile, Chadha says that Ranaut owes her an apology and that she will send her a notice. She added that she is refraining from filing a defamation case because she “wouldn’t do that to another woman”. With inputs from PTI