Not Funny Anymore: We need to call out Urvashi Rautela for stalking Rishabh Pant

In South Asian cultures where kids are rarely given privacy and their personal space is constantly intruded upon, it isn’t particularly surprising that stalking isn’t spoken about as often. But that doesn’t mean men and women - both famous and common citizens - are not stalked by predators. Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen , for instance, started receiving gifts from an unnamed man at her residence back in the day. Sen was not bothered by the gifts but soon, the frequency of gifts increased. One day, she received a wedding dress complete with accessories and a threatening letter. Sen soon filed a police complaint against her unnamed stalker. Vikram Vedha actor Hrithik Roshan , too, was once a victim of stalking. He was allegedly stalked by a Russian girl Anna who was often seen outside his Juhu residence. Hrithik didn’t pay heed until one day, Anna tried to barge into his Andheri office and turned aggressive when security stopped her. Soon, Hrithik, too. lodged a complaint against his predator.

We often expect stalkers to be nameless, faceless men who are predators - similar to Shah Rukh Khan in Darr. Rarely do we imagine a stalker who flies first class, is a pageant winner and an IITian - or at least claims to be one.

The verdict is out for quite some time on Urvashi Rautela and Rishabh Pant . The two dated for a while, posted bitter Instagram stories about each other and soon, the hype around them disappeared. Except Urvashi decided to visit Dubai and reignited the controversy. She attended all matches where team India (and therefore her ex-flame Rishabh Pant) were playing. As expected, the camera panned to Urvashi multiple times during the match - including when Pant lost his wicket. The Internet exploded with memes which mocked both Urvashi and Pant. In an ideal situation, the saga should have come to an end after the Asia Cup. However, Miss Diva Universe 2015 decided to ‘follow her heart’ and landed in Australia 1 week before the T20 World Cup.

Rautela’s Australia visit left many people surprised. Her being in Dubai seemed to be a mere coincidence. But the well-timed Australia visit shows that she is following her Pant around the globe being fully aware that her mere presence in the stadium will make headlines. Is the behaviour not predatory and creepy? Would we still be okay with this scenario playing out in front of our eyes if the genders were reversed?

We are quick to call out the sexist trolls who shame Anushka Sharma for Virat Kohli’s performance - as we rightfully should. But now that Urvashi is hopping stadiums and following Pant around the globe, shouldn’t we call her behaviour out? Is there not a slight possibility that Pant, who has repeatedly ignored Urvashi’s never-ending social media attacks and blocked her on WhatsApp, could be under immense mental distress? It is a double whammy for Pant who is being stalked and also being mocked for it, that too publicly. Some Pant fans even requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to intervene - which is highly unlikely to happen considering the board cannot ethically restrict people from attending stadiums. Meanwhile, Rautela who had earlier called Pant ‘chotu bhaiya’ and various other degrading names, is brazenly posting pictures from her flight on Instagram.

In the wake of Anushka-Virat trolling, anything remotely related to cricketers and their significant others is viewed through the lens of gender. It is often assumed the woman is facing the brunt of trolling but in this case, Pant, who is being harassed and mocked for it. While getting a restraining order against ‘MissUniverse🇮🇳x2🏆Maximum Beauty Titles Winner Record Holder’ is an option for Pant, it is doubtful if the order will be valid overseas. Knowing fully well she can get away with the stalking mainly because Pant cannot do much about the situation, Rautela continues with her stadium hopping.

It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the Pant-Rautela situation is an uncanny resemblance to the Hrithik-Kangana public battle which made headlines back in 2017. Several feminists who lauded Ranaut and slammed Hrithik later issued an apology after the truth of the investigation came out. For how long will we continue painting men as predators and assume women are not capable of doing anything wrong? Crime or in this case, predatory behaviour and stalking has no gender.

Needless to say, Urvashi Rautela did not follow her heart to Australia. She followed clout and social media attention. Given that she was trending on Twitter all day on Sunday, Rautela has been successful so far in her pursuit for attention.

All we can tell the Miss Diva Universe 2015 and alleged ‘IITian’ is - ‘Urvashi, Urvashi…take it easy, Urvashi’.

Deepansh Duggal is an entertainment, pop-culture and trends writer based in New Delhi. He specializes in op-eds based on the socio-political and gender issues in the world of entertainment and showbiz. He also writes explainers and occasionally reviews shows in the OTT space. He tweets at @Deepansh75. 

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