Why Did Utsav Think It Was Cool To Harass Women? Cos Other ‘Woke’ Bros Kept Quiet?

‘Woke’ men who pretend to be champions of women’s rights, are turning out to have the disappointing clay feet of harassers. And other men enable them by staying quiet.

Could this sordid story be more ironic?

Utsav Chakraborty, a stand-up comic with the comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB), has been accused of sending unsolicited pictures of his genitals to women and girls.

The Royal Caribbean International had to refund nearly two-thirds of the passengers on board its ‘Voyager Sea’ cruise sailing from Singapore to Australia, as many of them complained against 1,300 unruly Indian men who reportedly work for a chewing tobacco company. They took over several areas of the ship, hosted wild parties with burlesque dancers, and even harassed young girls.

In his first few posts responding to the observations on this cruise, Utsav adopted a sanctimonious tone. “This whole thing needs patience” and “incredible amount of context”, were some of his pious reflections.

Okay since everyone is out to get me in this whole narrative, let me repeat: I'VE NEVER ASKED AN UNDERAGE PERSON FOR NUDES. IF IT CAN BE PROVED IN *ANY WAY*, I'M READY TO TAKE THE DUE COURSE OF THE LAW. HOLY SHIT.

— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 5, 2018

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Mahima Kukreja, whose brave retort to Utsav, broke the net, pointed out his hypocrisy. Utsav sported a ‘Woke’ Indian man persona while sending unsolicited dick pics to strangers or fans on social media. Mahima had been a victim who received an unsolicited offensive picture from Utsav. Below is her tweet in reply to Utsav.

As the tweets multiplied, it became a #MeToo ripple. A wave of charges on Utsav surfaced with many women bravely sharing their stories with Mahima personally. Some women said Utsav had sent explicit and offensive direct messages on social media and asked for nude images from them too. Mahima has been tirelessly tweeting these chats, with their consent.

What’s up with this Utsav? Your behaviour has been consistently misogynist for a while and you keep pretending to be woke like your boyfriends at AIB who keep you employed as well. Women don’t feel safe around you. What are you doing about this?

— Aditi (hot takes 4 koolkidz) (@awryaditi) October 4, 2018

Utsav denied some of the allegations while admitting that “getting nudes from a person was an instant rush” for him. In his head, he said, it was “just plain sexting”. After being both contrite and defiant, Utsav finally tweeted an apology.

It's a little too late now but I am sorry. I really am. The past 24 hours were a crucible. I faced a very scary personal truth. I can't think of myself as a victim anymore. Please tell me what to do now. How to make things right? I don't want anyone to be hurt anymore.

— Utsav (@Wootsaw) October 5, 2018

Eventually, AIB posted a ‘sorry’ statement saying they would remove every video featuring Chakraborty. They accepted they had messed up. Sadly, it was too little too late. Mahima said that she had earlier complained about Utsav to the top brass of AIB. Tanmay Bhat admitted that he knew of sexual harassment claims against Utsav Chakraborty and yet continued working with him.

AIB knew of this sexual offender yet chose to work with him for years before the sordid story went public. Because at the end of it all, it is ‘just business’. Morality and solidarity or feminism be damned. But for Mahima’s bravery, many women’s plight wouldn’t have come to light.

Though the majority of the comic fraternity stood by these ladies, was it too little too late? Why wasn’t Tanushree Dutta given the same level of sympathy? Why do most women who raise such stories get asked questions as though they were the ones in the dock? Point to ponder over!

Next time, someone is brave enough to confide about a sexual harasser, we should take a leaf out of Mahima’s book and lend a consoling, supporting shoulder. Because every small step of sisterhood is a positive step towards creating a healthier social environment. Hopefully, devoid of perverts.

Raise your daughters brave.

As important or more: Raise your sons right.

Image Source IMDB

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