Naseeruddin Shah: More rape cases being reported is a good thing

Naseeruddin Shah on Monday spoke about a disturbing rape culture in India and the spike in rape cases being reported by the media calling it a “positive sign” at the trailer launch of his upcoming film Hope Aur Hum. Disturbed by the recent rape and murder cases of young girls, he spoke about it not being a recent phenomenon.  

At the trailer launch, when he was asked for his opinion on the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s village, Shah said, "Well, rape is not a new phenomenon, such horrors have always happened but the positive thing is, these days such cases are reported more.”

“In fact, there is a very wonderful thing that I read yesterday in a newspaper where a rape survivor was saying that why should the victim have to hide her face? In fact, the accused, who committed the crime should be ashamed, they should hide their faces. It’s a threatful situation... I guess it’s a good thing that media is so alert about all these things nowadays. It surely makes our morning horrifying, as the moment you open the newspaper, such news appears. But it is good that such incidents are talked about.”

He, however, pointed out that this is not the solution and said, "We are talking about a generational change of mindset, that cannot happen overnight. What we can do, is to trend set the example in our personal lives. We cannot keep on policing or not every girl possibly keeps a pistol or learns martial arts. It has to begin with us, with each one of us.”

The trailer launch of Hope Aur Hum was attended by the cast and crew of the film including actress Sonali Kulkarni, Naveen Kasturia, along with child actors of the film and director Sudip Bandyopadhyay. The film is slated to release on May 11.