Imtiaz Ali clarifies controversial remarks on women’s safety after criticism from Vinta Nanda at IFFI

After veteran television producer Vinta Nanda criticized acclaimed filmmaker Imtiaz Ali for his recent remarks on women’s safety at the 55th IFFI International Film Festival in Goa, the Highway director addressed the controversy. In response to Vinta’s allegations, Imtiaz clarified that he had been misunderstood. He emphasized that he has never denied or disputed the many cases of harassment, and sought to clarify his stance on the issue.

In his Instagram stories, Imtiaz Ali shared a clarification, he said, “Uh oh there seems to be a misunderstanding that I must clarify. I haven’t denied or disputed the tons of harassment cases that Vinta ji and many other friends have spoken about; in fact these incidents are deeply disturbing and must be dealt with severely and consistently.”
He added, “I was pointing out that it is doubly frustrating that the entire film industry, all those hundreds of men on every set who are otherwise remarkably well-mannered, get a bad name for the acts of a few. Of course, terrible things have happened and continue to happen and they are shameful – as an industry and nation, we should have a zero-tolerance policy towards them. We have to uphold our honour together and regardless of gender.”
Imtiaz Ali recalled an instance from the sets of Jab We Met, where Kareena Kapoor felt completely safe. He shared, “Kareena was ready for the shot and on the top berth in a railway compartment. She had to mumble in her sleep in the scene, and we needed extra lights on the berth. I asked her to come down until the crew members finished putting the light on. She said that I would keep lying there and they could just put the light on.”
Imtiaz added, “Three men went up and put it while standing on the lower berth where she was lying down. I asked her, ‘Are you sure and comfortable?’ She didn’t understand what my problem was. She said, ‘Abhi kon utrega aur phir chadhega!’ And that’s because she felt so safe with those three men hovering over her to put the light on. Nobody looked at her wrong in any way.”
Nanda shared a note on her Instagram that read, “Imtiaz Ali should stop pontificating about what women face in the entertainment industry. Naturally, Kareena Kapoor is safe because she is privileged. And, he surely must know that the casting couch exists! Why has IFFI Goa selected him to speak on behalf of women? Is it to whitewash the truth? If men like him had the courtesy to abstain from speaking on a subject they have no experience about, one will believe that change is indeed taking place.”
In the caption, Nanda wrote, “It’s shocking to see reports of @imtiazaliofficial making all sorts of statements about women’s issues on an important industry platform like @iffigoa With zero experience, he should have abstained from speaking instead.”
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