Would love to see our industry become cleaner, respectful of women: Rahman on #MeToo

Music maestro AR Rahman believes India’s #MeToo movement has the power to make the entertainment industry cleaner and respectful of women.

The 51-year-old Oscar-winning composer, who shared his views on the movement Monday night via social media, said his aim has always been to create a safe working environment for everyone.

“Been observing the #MeToo movement… Some of the names have shocked me… both the victims and their perpetrators… I would love to see our industry become cleaner and respectful of women… More power to all the victims coming forward!!

“In all my endeavours, my team and I are committed to creating an environment where everyone finds a safe creative space to bring their best, evolve and succeed,” he wrote.

Rahman, however, said people should be careful before creating a “internet justice system”.

“Social media offers great freedom for victims to speak up, however we should be careful in creating a new internet justice system, in case it’s misused.”

Rahman’s statement comes weeks after his long-time collaborator Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu was accused of predatory behaviour by multiple women, including popular singer ChinmayiSripaada.

India’s #MeToo movement started after actor TanushreeDutta revived a decade-old allegation of harassment against Nana Patekar, accusing him of sexual misconduct on the sets of a 2008 film.

Following Dutta’s allegations, many from the Indian film industry including people like VikasBahl, AlokNath, SubhashGhai, Sajid Khan have been accused of sexual harassment by various women.