Monday, 16 September 2024
Monday, 16 September 2024
Actor Rituparna Sengupta has said that many in the mob that heckled her when she went to attend a protest over the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital rape-murder on September 4 were drunk.
She also said that chief minister Mamata Banerjee had called her up after the incident to say that what had happened to her was wrong.
Sengupta, known for her roles in films like Dahan, said she had joined the march in solidarity with the protesters at Shyambazar.
"I was taken by surprise,” Rituparna told The Telegraph Online. “Initially, it was quite nice when I saw people coming forward and leading with candles. But when I was giving press interviews, a certain mob suddenly started pushing people around me. I also felt a jerk on my neck. I thought if I continued to stay, other people would get injured, so I started making my way out. The public got more furious and started shouting slogans."
As she tried to leave, the situation worsened.
"They even banged my car. A few people were completely drunk. I feel they don’t even know what they are doing. The purpose for which we had gone there was completely missed," she said.
"People had gone there to seek justice for a lady, and it was the same platform where they are harassing a lady!"
The mob grew more aggressive, surrounding her as she tried to leave.
“The mob was all over me and a lot of things could have happened. They have broken my car; these people were equivalent to hooligans," she said.
Rituparna said she had received calls of support from several prominent figures, all of whom had expressed sympathy.
“To be on the same page as Rituparna Sengupta is not easy, I have always put my best foot forward. Yesterday, even the chief minister called me and she said that whatever has happened is very wrong,” Rituparna said.
“Not only her, Jeet, Dev, Kamaleshwar, Gautam Ghosh and a lot of other actresses from Tollywood called me and said they feel sorry about it because they know who I am. Today it has happened with me; another day it can happen with anyone,” she said.
She mentioned the trolling she faced online after she shared a video on August 15, where she blew a conch shell as a symbolic gesture for the protest. The video drew criticism for being staged.
“I blew that shaankh; for that I have been trolled like anything,” she said. “That was for a purpose, I was not in the country at that time, I did not have a proper shaankh with me at that time. Only for the protest and as a symbolic thing I did it. We are family people, can’t we have our own emotions?”
Rituparna said she remains committed to the cause despite the setbacks.
“My heart aches for Abhaya [one of the names given to the RG Kar victim]. I am an apolitical person,” she said.
“I work with special children, red-light area people, I have struggled to achieve this position. I want to put a smile on everybody’s face and I will try to protest and help in whatever capacity I can."
She emphasised the need for justice for the RG Kar victim and called for a civilised society.
"I am here to seek justice for a woman who has been brutally murdered. We need to reach a fair conclusion; otherwise, our whole mission would be jeopardised," she said.
