“Women are caught between two roles ... Either as a damsel in distress or as a long-suffering wife,” remarked Madhu Bhushan, a feminist activist, while speaking about the two women — Pavithra Gowda (a close friend) and Vijayalakshmi (wife) — who are players in the narrative surrounding Kannada film actor Darshan who has been arrested in a murder case.
Ms. Bhushan was among the people who had protested in front of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce when Darshan was accused of beating and threatening his wife back in 2011.
Pavitra Gowda and actor Darshan | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
“This was an issue [online harassment by the now murdered Renukaswamy] that Pavithra could have handled herself by complaining to the police, but she chose to complain about it to Darshan. On the other side, we have media anchors blaming Vijayalakshmi for tolerating Darshan’s behaviour for so long. Why should women be accountable for a man’s conduct?” she questioned.
“What stopped Pavithra or Darshan from lodging a complaint with the cyber cell? They failed to look at it as an issue of a woman being sexually harassed.”Brinda Adige,Women’s rights activist
The events leading to the alleged murder of Renukaswamy began with him posting vile comments/sending obscene messages to Ms. Gowda. With thousands of women being subjected to online harassment on an everyday basis, women’s rights activists opine that lodging a complaint would have been the right approach.
“What stopped Pavithra or Darshan from lodging a complaint with the cyber cell? They failed to look at it as an issue of a woman being sexually harassed. Darshan typically looked at it from the perspective of toxic masculinity. The fact that he and his associates thought that they could get away with this is scary,” said Brinda Adige, a women’s rights activist.
Actor Dharshan and his wife Vijaylakshmi at a press conference on October 9, 2011.
The activist stressed the role of the State in such issues. “When his wife had charged him with physical and mental abuse, the case was soon closed and such happenings give a message to people that no one can touch someone of Darshan’s stature, someone who is a movie star and also a campaigner for political leaders. Now, the government must look at framing stringent laws for online trolling so that the police can take strong action,” she said.
The case has also brought forth the broader issue of women being judged for their “character”. “When a woman’s issue comes up, it becomes more about objectification. But the same thing does not happen to a man. Even in Darshan’s case, there have been a lot of issues, including what happened with his wife. But it did not affect his career, name or fame. But many women actors who had come forward during the #MeToo movement just vanished from the film industry,” pointed out K.S. Vimala of the All-India Democratic Women’s Association.
