Bollywood News and Stories From India

In the wake of the spiralling scandal of sexual predators in Hollywood, Union minister Maneka Gandhi has asked Bollywood to abide by the law on sexual harassment. But why only us, ask those who got the letter. Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has sent letters to 24 leading production houses of Bollywood, reminding them of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work act. After the Harvey Weinstein case — and other sexual predators exposed afterwards — taking Hollywood by storm, it seems that Bollywood is on the government’s radar now. In the notice, sent to producers such as Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor and other big names, the minister has written: “The aim of this law is to ensure that no woman is sexually harassed at her workplace. This is to be followed in letter and spirit by all organisations in the country and I expect you to personally lead these efforts with sincerity and commitment, in accordance with all the applicable laws.” ...

Salma Hayek, in a New York Times article, has said she was pleased to have the opportunity to work with Harvey Weinstein, but she found herself rebuffing sexual advances and requests from Weinstein. Mexican-born actress Salma Hayek has joined the ranks of Hollywood women accusing movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, calling him a “monster” in an article published by the New York Times. “For years, he was my monster,” Hayek wrote in the opinion piece in which she included descriptions of sexual harassment, bullying and threats. Her refusals — of massages, showers and sex — enraged him, she wrote. “I don’t think he hated anything more than the word ‘no,’” wrote Hayek. Holly Baird, a spokeswoman for Weinstein, reached by email on Wednesday, said she could not immediately provide a comment. More than 50 women have claimed that Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them over the past three decades. Weinstein has denied having non-consensual sex ...

Jessica Chastain added how when she was tweeting a lot about Harvey Weinstein scandal, she received an email from a fellow actor who warned her to stop tweeting as much about the issue. Hollywood star Jessica Chastain said a “well-known actor” told her to “calm down” about Harvey Weinstein scandal. The 40-year-old actor appeared on the Graham Norton Show where she revealed that a fellow actor warned her to stop tweeting as much about the Harvey Weinstein scandal. “I was tweeting a lot at the time and actually got an email from a well-known actor that said, ‘calm down’. I found that heartbreaking and can only think he didn’t understand the movement that was happening,” Chastain said. The actor made her displeasure with the producer known in various tweets. And following reports of alleged decades of sexual harassment by Weinstein, she also tweeted out an article highlighting similar accusations lodged against X- Men producer Bryan Singer, writing “Let us not forget...

Hoping for a Harvey Weinstein kind of wave in Bollywood, Richa Chadda says she does not see it happening immediately, mainly because of the culture of victim-shaming. Multiple allegations of systematic abuse of women by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein started a massive clean-up operation in Hollywood that saw big names such as Kevin Spacey and Brett Ratner crumbling in the face of #MeToo protests and more. Can something along the same lines happen in the Hindi film industry? Actor Richa Chadha says she does not see it happening immediately, mainly because of the culture of victim-shaming in our country. “I don’t see that happening immediately given the culture of naming and shaming in our country. But when it happens, as it is happening in Hollywood right now, the entire power structure will change. People, who you see making feminist films and claiming to be progressive etc, they will all come tumbling down,” she says. “We will lose a lot of heroes and several peo...