Bengali actor Ritabhari Chakraborty is one of the few artistes who took a major initiative during the Bengali industry's #MeToo movement two years ago. Without naming two "influential" producers from the industry publicly, Ritabhari urged women to speak up against sexual harassment at the workplace in a Facebook post in September 2024, tagging the then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Following her public post, she also met Mamata Banerjee with a petition to form a committee to investigate the allegations back in 2024.
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Ritabhari Chakraborty opened up about the present status of her petition and why she raised her voice after years of bearing the harassment.
"I am at a stage in my life where if someone harasses me now, or tries to sexually assault me in any way, I am the highest-followed actor in the entire East; they will be standing naked on the street even if they try it," Ritabhari tells us.
"That was not the case when I started out in the industry. I was a little girl, figuring her way out. I was way too scared when all of these things happened. I thought people would cancel me if I talked about it. People would say, 'Oh, she's talking about such a powerful person because they didn't take her in a film. She must be vengeful and angry,'" Ritabhari reasoned for why she didn't speak earlier.
"Anyway, I have preserved those texts, the offensive ones, all these years. I am not comfortable turning social media into a trial ground for people. I would rather go in a structured way," she asserts.
Updating the present status of her petition, Ritabhari tells NDTV, "I have made a similar petition to the current government. In fact, much more formally, not informally. I am yet to have a one-on-one meeting on that to see where it goes. I will keep you posted."
Background
Along the lines of the Hema Committee (an advisory committee formed by the Government of Kerala in July 2017 to investigate issues related to sexual violence and gender inequality), Ritabhari Chakraborty urged women of the Bengali film industry to speak up against sexual harassment at the workplace in a Facebook post in September 2024, following the #MeToo movement in the Bengali film industry.
Following her Facebook post, the then Chief Minister called Ritabhari to meet her at Nabanna.
The CM said she would form a committee with five ministers, who would decide on a set of guidelines after reading the Hema Committee report thoroughly. An investigative committee would also be formed.
A former chief justice would head the five-member committee. Police, psychologists and lawyers would also be part of the committee.
Ritabhari also requested Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not to include anyone from the film industry on the committee. The actress told the media that the CM honoured her request.
During her personal meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Ritabhari Chakraborty also accused two "influential" producers of sexual harassment.
Filmography
Ritabhari Chakraborty became a household name with her TV show Ogo Bodhu Sundori (2009–2010). She then switched to films to expand her horizons. In recent times, she has worked in hit Bengali films like Bohurupi, Brahma Janen Gopon Kommoti and Fatafati.
Ritabhari ventured into writing with the short film Naked, starring Kalki Koechlin, which she also produced.
She also played a pivotal character in Anushka Sharma's supernatural film Pari (2017).
Also Read | Why The Bengali Film Industry Took 6 Years To Say #MeToo
