Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal has written to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur demanding the ouster of filmmaker Sajid Khan from the reality show Bigg Boss. The filmmaker was accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour by several women during the #MeToo movement in 2018. Sajid Khan was suspended for a year by the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) in 2018 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment.
“Ten women had accused Sajid Khan of sexual harassment during the #MeToo movement. All these complaints show the disgusting mentality of Sajid. Now, this man has been given a place in Bigg Boss, which is wrong. I have written to @ianuragthakur to have Sajid Khan removed from this show,” Maliwal said in a tweet in Hindi on Monday. The first episode of Bigg Boss’ 16th season aired on October 1.
Despite the uproar on social media, the subject was not addressed on the show and instead Sajid Khan referred to his ‘arrogance’ being the reason behind his downfall. The show is hosted by Salman Khan, who gave the filmmaker a warm welcome, leading to more disappointment among fans.
While many celebrities have remained silent on the subject, others like Sona Mohapatra condemned his participation and called out those who were quiet on the subject, including Farhan Akhtar. Actor Devoleena Bhattacharjee is the latest to have condemned the show and told Aaj Tak, “It breaks my heart to see him on national television, trying to prove he is a hero. I feel bad thinking where is our society headed, she said.
Nevertheless, Sajid Khan seemed to have also received support from some actors, including Shehnaaz Gill and Kashmera Shah. In the recent episode, Sajid Khan even went as far as to say that he was ‘the boss’ of everyone. “Yeh sab TV serials ke actors hai, tu samaj. Aur TV serials ke actors na, yeh log basically… inko lagta hai yeh humari duniya hai. Mai baap hu yeh sab cheez ka (All these are TV actors, do understand. These TV actors basically believe this is their world. But I am the boss of everything).”
