Shweta Basu Prasad, who was arrested in September for being involved in a sex racket is out now, after 2 months. Many of us blamed her for doing such a shameful thing while many of us supported her as well. Some said she was forced to do this to support hers and her family’s lifestyle. However, I am sure, not many would have bothered to think in keeping themselves in her place. We jumped to conclusions, even without knowing if she actually was the one to be blamed. All this while, she hadn’t spoken anything in her defense, but finally, she has opened up.
For the very first time, Shweta talked about what had actually happened.
“I came home on Friday. I’ve no complaints against anyone except the journalist who during my hour of crisis made up a statement attributed to me. That statement was circulated everywhere. I had no idea about it as I had no access to newspapers or websites for two months. It’s only now that I came to know of this.”
She clearly had no idea what the world was talking about her. In such a scenario, I wonder who is to be blamed – the media, or us, who blindly follow them?
Someone managed to get her quote. When she was arrested, this is the quote which was circulated – “I have made wrong choices in my career, and I was out of money. I had to support my family and some other good causes. All the doors were closed, and some people encouraged me to get into prostitution to earn money. I was helpless, and with no option left to choose, I got involved in this act. I’m not the only one who faced this problem, and there are several other heroines who have gone through this phase.”
She had never made this statement. She said that she wasn’t even allowed to talk to her parents. How could she give such a statement to the media? They’re now tracking down the journalist who did this.
“We as a nation enjoy watching suffering. We are sadistic people. I want to ask the journalist who made up this statement: how much do you know about me and my family? I’ve friends in the film industry. I am well-connected. I’ve been auditioning for roles even when this (the arrest) happened. I’ve spent three-and-half-years of my life making a documentary on Hindustani classical music. I turned down roles after my first Tamil film as a leading lady was a hit because I wanted to focus on my documentary. Now that it’s in post-production I want to concentrate on my acting. So I want to know which doors were being closed? Such shallow emotions and vocabulary! Any sane person would have seen it’s made up. I can’t understand how it was used everywhere as my statement.”
I too have the same question. Just to get a good story, to what extent can a journalist go? Does anyone’s reputation not matter in the race of getting stories?
Shweta is completely unaffected by the whole episode. She’s back home and all set to start working again. And for showing such a positive attitude, we know she has a long way to go.
When asked why she was caught in this situation, she said that she was in Hyderabad to attend an awards function. The organisers had arranged her stay and the air tickets. She missed the flight and it was in her fate to get caught at that place.
Life does play bitter games, isn’t it? It could be with anybody.
This is for all who blamed her for being involved in this and for those who couldn’t wait for her to speak for herself – you or me, nobody has the right to judge someone based on any allegations. Let the person get a chance to defend himself/herself. Everyone deserves a chance to speak.
As for Shweta, our best wishes are with her and we wish to see her exploring new heights of success. Such things don’t matter to us and it shouldn’t to anybody else too!
Read the entire interview of Shweta in DNA and see what all things she had to go through.
