The recently released web series Chiraiya starring Divya Dutta has become the topic of public discourse on the internet for touching on the subject of consent and marital rape. The show has found opposition from a section of society who are calling it an ‘anti-men propaganda’. Actor Prasanna Bisht, who plays the victim of marital rape in the show, reacts to those comments saying, “There is high time that people start accepting this change.”
Prasanna Bisht adds, “With time, Nature changes, weather changes, so we need to change too. It is high time we start listening because it is not happening. People need to change their thinking. The show is all about explaining that a woman’s body belongs to the woman and what the meaning of consent is, that’s all. If you think that is propaganda, then it’s extremely funny and sad. Whoever is saying that, they should educate themselves more and start growing their emotional intelligence first and start listening.”
There have been claims also surfacing online saying that the show says that 82% of married Indian women face abuse in their relationship. Calling this spread of data false, Prasanna says, “All the facts that people are saying, they should watch the show first before making any statements. People today start putting their perspective out without seeing the actual thing. The show never claimed the percentage that they are talking about.”
Ask her if she felt any apprehension playing the scenes of harassment on screen, especially at such an early stage of her career, and Prasanna gives a brave reply: “There are so many men out there in this world who don’t even see the age of a girl when they harass them. So, why should I see my age when I want to speak against it? I take pride in saying that I did it as it was my responsibility. I know that I’m an actor, but it was a responsibility because I have also experienced things in my life very early on.”
The actor asserts that the show’s story might be fictional, but it’s a reality for many women out there. “The women I know and have spoken to, almost everyone has experienced this in their lives. I myself have experienced where people have challenged my dignity so many times and tried to cross their boundaries, just because they think they can,” she says, adding that it’s easy to think that why they don’t raise their voices the same instant it happens, but what goes in the victim’s mind is far more complex. “People think that, ‘oh, just because she’s a working woman, she’s well-educated, why is she not able to take a stand for herself?’ They don’t understand what happens when personal emotions, when personal relationships get involved. The upbringing in our society is such that it puts expectations and can limit you. This is a generational upbringing that women should be this way. We start questioning things like, ‘did we do something wrong? Did we make a mistake?’ Before raising our voice, let me understand what exactly happened, so that I don’t say anything wrong, so that the relationship doesn’t get ruined. It’s very difficult for women to understand themselves. It was difficult for me to understand what was wrong and what was right.”
She also questions the naysayers on why they aren’t seeing the good men portrayed in the show. “Sometimes you are so blinded by so many beliefs that are not working in your favour that you just don’t want to disillusion yourself. Why are people not talking about Vinay? I’m surprised. Why are people not talking about how he tackled the situation? Why are people not talking about how he supported his wife? How he’s a real man with good values. They’re only talking about what Arun did and how the show portrays men. That’s not true. We have the entire contrast shown in the show. They need to open their eyes, open their minds, open their hearts, so that they can understand basic human things,” she ends.
