MenToo: 'The rape charge was more damaging to my mind than my career,' Karan Oberoi narrates his month-long jail ordeal

By Gurpreet Kaur

on June 19, 2019

Karan Oberoi was arrested on May 6 for allegedly raping and blackmailing the woman. After being in the jail for over a month, he was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on June 7. Later, in a sudden turn of events, the Mumbai Police on June 17 arrested a woman who had lodged a false case of rape against the television actor-singer. Now in a recent interview with a leading daily, Karan narrated his month-long ordeal behind the bars and talked about the support he got from friends and family.

Pointing out that his jail experience has not made him better, Karan said, "I don’t want anyone implicated in a false case to languish in jail, just because they don’t have the resources to secure a bail. Now, my mission is to fight for these voiceless people. I want to ensure that no human being suffers like I did. The system and process need a lot of reformation and corrective measures, and I will fight for that." Further mentioning how the rape charges were more damaging to his mind than his career, Karan added, "As far as the latter is concerned, I am doing fine, because offers are already coming in. I want to take my time to evaluate every offer. Meanwhile, I will continue writing my book. Besides, #MenToo is a mission I am not giving up on. In fact, nothing will take a back seat, be it singing, acting, writing, producing or directing."

Incidentally, Karan has emerged as the poster boy of the MenToo movement. When asked about it, he said that he advocates both MeToo and MenToo since they complement each other. "When it comes to the #MeToo movement, I will fight for it shoulder-to-shoulder, but don’t persecute an innocent man and put him behind bars, because the agenda then gets diluted. That’s the point we are making with this movement. If we are suddenly going to answer years of patriarchy by creating an imbalance in the equation between men and women, we are asking for trouble," he signed off by saying.

(Source: The Times of India)