'Many perpetrators still thriving': Konkona Sen Sharma's take on 'Me Too Movement,' new film 'Accused'

"Accused", directed by Anubhuti Kashyap, follows the story of a same-sex married couple whose lives are upended by a scandal.

Mumbai: Actor Konkona Sen Sharma, who plays a UK doctor facing allegations of workplace sexual harassment in her new film "Accused", believes that while some good has come out of the #MeToo movement, many perpetrators continue to thrive.

"Accused", directed by Anubhuti Kashyap and also featuring Pratibha Ranta of "Laapataa Ladies" fame, follows the story of a same-sex married couple whose lives are upended by a scandal.

Konkona's character, a celebrated doctor in London, is accused of sexual misconduct by her colleagues at the hospital. As scrutiny intensifies and public opinion hardens, the film explores the strains this places on her closest relationships and how quickly perception can take hold when certainty is out of reach.

The actor said the landmark Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed rampant harassment in the industry, was a major thing to come out of the movement but many perpetrators did not suffer any consequences.

"It's just a very unfortunate situation. This is the reality we all know, we know the people who have been accused, we can see so many of them thriving. A lot of that is actually dependent on us, on all of us as a society, who we choose to work with, whose work we want to watch, how many opportunities do we give these people," Konkana told PTI in an interview.

"The Hema committee has brought out a report, how many people have actually read it, how widely has it been circulated? Some good things may have come out of it, in terms of infrastructure, some committees and structures have been put in place on a film set, or in any work environment. But ultimately what comes of it, a lot of it depends on us, and how we deal with it as a society," the actor added.

Kashyap said they showed the film around to a few champions of the movement in India also, just to get their feedback, and what they feel about the film. She now hopes film continues the dialogue that the movement started.

"Most of them liked the film, appreciated but it was very difficult to watch for them purely because something good is happening there (in the film). Hopefully, with this film more people will get some courage to keep the movement going," Kashyap said.

The director said the essential change #MeToo movement brought was the implementation of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) and better infrastructure on film sets.

"Some good has happened because some of these structures have been put in place. Some people have found the courage to repeatedly come out with their stories, which is very very hard. So, that's the good thing. Unfortunately, it did fizzle out a little bit. But I hope the good of it stays and grows," Kashyap said.

Rannta, who shot to fame with her roles in "Laapataa Ladies" and "Heeramandi", praised the "courage" of the survivors to share their stories.

"It really takes a lot for you to come out when something has happened to you, and there are structures that have helped people come out, and speak about what they have felt, which is good," she said.

Kashyap said what makes their film, produced by Dharma, unusual is that the accused is a woman. The film premieres on Netflix on February 27.

The core concept of "Accused", originated within the Netflix India creative team, and Kashyap boarded the project later where she developed the story with writers Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani.

"We've never seen a film on a woman accused of sexual misconduct, so thought why not make it?" the director said, adding, the team conducted extensive research on the subject through UK and US government reports.

She said their findings revealed that while 70 per cent of perpetrators are men, but there is a significant number of cases involving women as accused parties in workplaces.

"This global data led the team to base the film's setting in the UK... Then what we found was that we've not heard enough stories told from the point of view of the accused or we don't know enough like, what do they go through? What damage or how do it affect their lives? So, it all kind of started from there.

"Then we started to research cases where women have accused women of sexual harassment, or how those cases eventually pan out. We found very interesting research."

Ruchikaa Kapoor Sheikh, Director, Original Films, Netflix India, called "Accused" a deeply thought-provoking film.

"The film examines how suspicion can fracture relationships and blur the lines between perception and reality. Anubhuti Kashyap brings remarkable sensitivity and restraint to this complex subject. Led by compelling performances from Konkona Sen Sharma and Pratibha Ranta, and shaped by nuanced writing from Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani, 'Accused' reflects the kind of layered, character-driven storytelling Netflix continues to champion," she said.