“Why Think That A Woman Has Slept With Someone To Reach The Top” – Arjun Rampal In Conversation With Koimoi

Arjun Rampal is always a pleasure to interact with. Never really short of words and ever so promising when it comes to making a great copy, he impresses with his cool demeanour while maintaining a casual atmosphere. For someone who has managed to make a definite place for himself in the industry during his decade long stay and shrugging away the ‘outsider’ tag that he once came with, Arjun is now returning in his first solo starrer that is running entirely on his shoulders. As the film hits the screens today, Arjun makes one last and final call about his dramatic encounter called Inkaar.

Sexual harassment. Mental torture. Ego clashes. Love story going sour. Really, a lot seems to be happening in ‘Inkaar’, isn’t it?
Yes, and more (smiles). See, sexual harassment is not just about sex. As you just mentioned, it is more of mental torture with sexual undertone to it. It is about how you scar a mind without really getting physical. However there is no physicality in ‘Inkaar’. It is all about a mind game with perception in the middle of it all.

Why perception?
Because if it was all about physical aspect of affairs then the conflict would go straight into the category of molestation or rape! However when the issue is more about mind then how do you prove harassment? There are no clear guidelines after all and things can’t really be black and white. In fact I have come to realise that there are so many pointers around which there is not even any single reference in the context of sexual harassment.

Guess the core debate around right v/s wrong is prevalent all over again.
Yes, absolutely. Rahul as well as Maya discover a lot of rights and wrongs during this conflict. A man needs to accept a woman in the work environment and vice versa. Also they both need to accept the dynamics that keep changing. A man has to understand that a woman could have gone to a top position due to her professionalism and talent. So why look at her with suspect that she is there because she would have slept with someone out there? Why to encounter a woman with such questions?

So other than the commercial success for ‘Inkaar’, what are you expecting as an outcome for the film?
That it is about time we have clear rules on what we can do and what we cannot at workplace. Yes, of course everyone wants a safer environment at the workplace. However the million dollar question still remains, as is highlighted in the film, that ‘what is that thin line between flirting and harassment’?

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder