A couple of months ago, singer Shweta Prasad, as part of the #MeToo movement, had alleged that music composer Anu Malik sexually harassed her when she was 15-years old. The latter was forced to step down as the judge of Indian Idol 10. Anu denied all accusations and his lawyer also issued a statement saying they were false and baseless.
Malik’s good friend and one of the favourite singers of the country, Sonu Nigam has now come forward to his defence. Sonu feels that Malik’s reputation has been damaged without any proof.
At a recent event, he said:
If you say, “Anu Malik met me this morning”, that’s fine. You accused him without any proof; let’s accept that too. Had he wanted to say anything, he could have said a lot. But he did not. How can you ban him? How can you snatch his bread and butter? How can you torture his family?
He also spoke about the negative repercussions of the #MeToo movement:
Who has given us the right to be the judiciary of someone else’s life? Or you provide concrete proof. I have two sisters. I stand for them. But that does not mean that you put a stop to someone’s work. How can that happen? It happens in the corporate world too. You have accused him, you have shamed him; now don’t punish his family. Get proof first.
Sonu is right to a certain extent, I feel. But we cannot overlook Shweta’s charges either. Let’s hope that the truth prevails sooner rather than later.