An Indian filmmaker Sajid Khan, who was cited by many women during the #MeToo movement has now joined Bigg Boss 16. Because of this, netizens filed a petition for his expulsion from the popular TV program.
Ever since Sajid khan participated in Bigg Boss 16 netizens are demanding his eviction from the national TV show. During the #MeeToo movement, the filmmaker was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Following these allegations, the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) obstructed him from directing films, and later he was dropped from Housefull 4. According to his own confession on the big boss stage, he said he did not get any work after this allegation and sat at home for four years.
Despite its controversy and fans’ love-hate relationship, Bigg Boss continues to be India’s most popular reality show. When they saw Sajid Khan on stage and saw the attempts to clean up his image, the group’s devoted followers became discouraged. He comfortably avoided addressing the accusations, blaming his “arrogance” for failing to save him as he made his Bigg Boss debut. After receiving a few blows, Sajid insisted, he thought he was invincible, which brought everything to a screeching halt.
This could have been the ideal opportunity to address the accusations and make amends. Still, instead, it has turned into a way to quickly sweep everything under the rug and give Sajid another chance to become a household name. His participation in Bigg Boss is not surprising because the reality series has made no apologies for accepting contestants with a murky past and controversies associated with their names. Even Shalin Bhanot, a contestant this season, was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife, actor Daljit Kaur. Consequently, it was not surprising to see Sajid Khan join the cast months before the release of his movie.
Many would contend that he rejected all of the accusations, but in our society, we also cannot turn a blind eye to women who speak out about their conflicts. Janice Sequeira, a former journalist who is currently a chat show host, correctly noted that seeing Sajid on Bigg Boss could send the wrong messages to women who had the courage to come forward with their experiences with celebrity predators.
From an entirely different perspective, it was clear that the trick had been a huge success for both the show and him during his time on Bigg Boss 16. Sajid Khan has been trending on social media ever since the episode and generating more buzz for the program.