<p>An Indian-American filmmaker and creator of 'Priya's Shakti', a free-to-download comic book that tells the story of an Indian gang-rape victim-turned-superhero, was not surprised by a convicted rapist's views on rape.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Last September, while conducting research for his comic, he met many men in Delhi who shared convicted rapist Mukesh Singh's opinions expressed in a BBC documentary, Ram Devineni told NBC News.<br /><br />India has banned the British filmmaker Leslee Udwin's documentary - "India's Daughter" - on the December 16, 2012, fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman who has come to be known as Nirbhaya or the Fearless, following an uproar over Mukesh Singh's comments.<br /><br />Despite the ban, BBC released ahead of schedule the documentary, in which Mukesh Singh blames the victim for her fate. It immediately went viral on YouTube.<br />"Priya is influenced by Nirbhaya. She is the reason why I wrote this comic book," Devineni told NBC News. "The reason I created the videos is to put a real face and voices to the comic book and Priya."<br /><br />"Comic books have a tendency to remove the reader from reality, but by adding the videos into the comic book I was able to show that there is a real human face and story behind the characters," he was quoted as saying.<br /><br />NBC News cited a 2012 survey by Hindustan Times, saying 92 out of 100 Delhi men, aged 18-25, said some or all of their friends have made passes at women in public places, while more than 78 percent of the women surveyed had been sexually harassed.<br /><br />NBC News said the Priya's Shakti team has released footage from their man-on-street interviews with young men in Delhi as well as a gang rape survivor to it.<br /><br />In the first video, the Priya's Shakti team speaks to young working class men between the ages of 21-25 at a street market in south Delhi.<br /><br />One of the men explains that he thinks rape is 50 percent the man's fault, 50 percent the woman's fault. A few others say provocative clothing invites rape and harassment.<br /><br />"I never got the impression that they were violent or would misbehave in anyway," said Devineni.<br /><br />"But they all shared the same patriarchal views towards women. They believed that women should be conservative and only 'bad' girls get raped."<br /><br />Devineni told NBC News that he also encountered men who defended female rape victims.<br /><br />"I don't want to paint a picture that all Delhi men are like this. But, of course, it's still scary to think that half the men feel that a woman is equally at fault."<br /><br />In this second video, the Priya's Shakti team speaks to 19-year-old Jyoti (a pseudonym used to protect her identity) who was gang-raped by a group of young local men, three years ago, in a village on the outskirts of Haryana.<br />Despite facing grave threats, she took legal action against her attackers and was able to get them sentenced.<br /><br />"Jyoti was completely open and honest with us because she felt her story would help others," Devineni was quoted as saying.<br /><br />"I was very inspired by her motivations and determination. What happened to her has become her life's mission."<br /><br />Jyoti is currently pursuing a degree in social work and volunteers with a local voluntary group in Haryana which advices and counsels rape survivors.<br /><br />But her struggle is far from over. She's received multiple death threats and is under constant police protection, NBC News said.<br /><br />"Her story and the stories of other rape survivors directly influenced in the creation of my character in the comic book. Priya is a compilation of them," said Devineni.</p>
<p>An Indian-American filmmaker and creator of 'Priya's Shakti', a free-to-download comic book that tells the story of an Indian gang-rape victim-turned-superhero, was not surprised by a convicted rapist's views on rape.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Last September, while conducting research for his comic, he met many men in Delhi who shared convicted rapist Mukesh Singh's opinions expressed in a BBC documentary, Ram Devineni told NBC News.<br /><br />India has banned the British filmmaker Leslee Udwin's documentary - "India's Daughter" - on the December 16, 2012, fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman who has come to be known as Nirbhaya or the Fearless, following an uproar over Mukesh Singh's comments.<br /><br />Despite the ban, BBC released ahead of schedule the documentary, in which Mukesh Singh blames the victim for her fate. It immediately went viral on YouTube.<br />"Priya is influenced by Nirbhaya. She is the reason why I wrote this comic book," Devineni told NBC News. "The reason I created the videos is to put a real face and voices to the comic book and Priya."<br /><br />"Comic books have a tendency to remove the reader from reality, but by adding the videos into the comic book I was able to show that there is a real human face and story behind the characters," he was quoted as saying.<br /><br />NBC News cited a 2012 survey by Hindustan Times, saying 92 out of 100 Delhi men, aged 18-25, said some or all of their friends have made passes at women in public places, while more than 78 percent of the women surveyed had been sexually harassed.<br /><br />NBC News said the Priya's Shakti team has released footage from their man-on-street interviews with young men in Delhi as well as a gang rape survivor to it.<br /><br />In the first video, the Priya's Shakti team speaks to young working class men between the ages of 21-25 at a street market in south Delhi.<br /><br />One of the men explains that he thinks rape is 50 percent the man's fault, 50 percent the woman's fault. A few others say provocative clothing invites rape and harassment.<br /><br />"I never got the impression that they were violent or would misbehave in anyway," said Devineni.<br /><br />"But they all shared the same patriarchal views towards women. They believed that women should be conservative and only 'bad' girls get raped."<br /><br />Devineni told NBC News that he also encountered men who defended female rape victims.<br /><br />"I don't want to paint a picture that all Delhi men are like this. But, of course, it's still scary to think that half the men feel that a woman is equally at fault."<br /><br />In this second video, the Priya's Shakti team speaks to 19-year-old Jyoti (a pseudonym used to protect her identity) who was gang-raped by a group of young local men, three years ago, in a village on the outskirts of Haryana.<br />Despite facing grave threats, she took legal action against her attackers and was able to get them sentenced.<br /><br />"Jyoti was completely open and honest with us because she felt her story would help others," Devineni was quoted as saying.<br /><br />"I was very inspired by her motivations and determination. What happened to her has become her life's mission."<br /><br />Jyoti is currently pursuing a degree in social work and volunteers with a local voluntary group in Haryana which advices and counsels rape survivors.<br /><br />But her struggle is far from over. She's received multiple death threats and is under constant police protection, NBC News said.<br /><br />"Her story and the stories of other rape survivors directly influenced in the creation of my character in the comic book. Priya is a compilation of them," said Devineni.</p>