Tisca Chopra on sexual harassment in Bollywood: Women just as much to blame

The actress Tisca Chopra has landed herself in the soup after saying that "women are just as much to blame" when it comes to sexual harassment in the Indian film industry, and whether there is a culture of silence around it.

Chopra was speaking to The Print, which wasasking the question: "Is there a culture of silence on sexual harassment in Indian film industry?"

The Print had asked people from Bollywood to respond.

The list of respondents included, among others, the actors Swara Bhaskar and Kalki Koechlin, the film critic Rajeev Masand, and Chopra.

"I’m going to be very categorical when I say that women are just as much to blame, because they put themselves in those vulnerable positions. Why do these women go to hotel rooms? Do they not fear for their personal safety? Have they not heard of people’s reputations, and why do they engage with those men?," Chopra had said to The Print.

She added: "Why do they not say “N-O:no” point blank? And why be alone with a person like that? Every human being is hardwired to protect themselves. Self-preservation is the biggest instinct human beings have, why do they lose that? They think that somehow they will be the one that will duck the pattern and will escape. Knowing someone’s reputation, why would you put yourself in that position with them?

"Being a woman, I would say that first of all, protect yourself. Don’t put yourself in that position. The more women start saying flat-out “no”s, the more these men will understand that this is not the way, this is not going to work. But a woman goes and says yes, and so it gives them the authority to say “If this one won’t do it, then that one will do it,” or “I’ll take that one, I’ll take this one”. So, you know, those choices need to stop becoming available to these men. It just has to be absolutely not possible."

The Twitterati reacted furiously to Chopra's choice of words:

The other respondents to The Print had taken verydifferent positions.

"We are all guilty of being in-the-know, and of being silent," Bhaskar had said.

"This is a power game and it is being broken down through social media," Koechlin had said.

And "The casting couch has been one of Bollywood’s worst-kept secrets," Masand had said.