MeToo Controversy: Mallika Dua Trolled For Tirade Against Sona Mohapatra

The controversy over the #MeToo movement just refuses to die down. Now comedienne Mallika Dua and singer Sona Mohapatra are exchanging hot words over the death of an accused. The two have been at loggerheads for a long time with their tirades on social media. Mallika’s father Vinod Dua was also accused of sexual harassment during the #MeToo movement and she had come out strongly in his defence while accusing Sona of taking the wrong side and calling her ‘daddy’s girl’. The man in question was 48-year-old documentary maker Arghya Basu who had been accused of sexual assault by Nishtha Jain, director of the award-winning documentary Gulabi Gang and a friend of Sona Mohapatra. Basu was found hanging in his flat and investigators found out that he had been depressed but he left no suicide note. Although Arghya had denied the allegations against him, Mallika has questioned the silence of Sona Mohapatra over his death.

The Bitter Side Of The MeToo Movement

Numerous accusations have tumbled out ever since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements gained momentum. There have been debates over the safety of women and counter allegations towards fake complaints too. But the situation right now is pretty grim for the future of women as these movements are being reduced to a petty cat-fight arena where name calling and mudslinging over the internet has become common. The worst part is that the eager participants in this dirty fight are women who are actually doing a disservice in furthering the cause of their own gender. If this continues, we will soon be back to square one. We will only be the so-called fair sex that cares less about the issue and more about being the kind of people who derive voyeuristic pleasure from airing out their frustrations for the sake of it. We will have the perpetrators of such crimes laugh at these petty fights and the mentality about sexual harassment will continue to remain the same.

What Mallika Said...

Mallika accused Sona’s friend Nishtha of abetting Arghya’s suicide and the singer accusing people of harassment left right centre on Facebook:

"This snake of a Human being Sona Mohapatra (AKA Payal Rohtagi of all activism) has conveniently put just 2 screenshots to get sympathy votes off her Facebook audience on her professional page because nobody takes her seriously on twitter. lol. She’s the most toxic, uncouth, unscrupulous opportunist when it comes to causes that add to her portfolio. She reduced my identity and accomplishment to being ‘daddy’s daughter’ and starting whining when I returned the compliment (Ram sampath’s wife.) She’s stooped to victim blaming a man who committed suicide due to a likely abetment by her best friend whose hobby it is to accuse people of harassment on Facebook without substantiating her statements. Because convenience. Sona is cut from the same bad quality cloth clearly. Somebody get her a gig please. She whines about it all the time and is up to no good in her spare time. Everything from alcoholism to loss of employment to guilt is responsible for the loss of a man’s life but not the baseless character assassination your bff is known for? Since when did gender become the basis of unconditional trust? We should trust your buddy and her version and accept that she’s above the bloody law because she’s a woman? These people decide who’s an offender today and who’s innocent tomorrow (Varun Grover for instance) because they’re women and we must obey them and trust every word they say and feel without questioning them? I’m a woman and I’m sorry I don’t need that sort of charity consolation prize. Not in my name," she wrote.

It may be noted here that it was Mallika, who had called out Twinkle Khanna for supporting her husband actor Akshay Kumar over a sexist remark against her on the show The Laughter Challenge. Twinkle had finally apologised after making light of the situation. But the whole thing was still muddled up as the boundaries of humour that may or may not have sexual connotations aren’t clear and a woman is always judged on how she reacts to it.

Sona Answers Back...

Sona has faced a lot of flak for calling out Sonu Nigam for supporting MeToo accused Anu Malik and also speaking up against Kailash Kher for his harassing behaviour. Now, attaching screenshots of Mallika Dua’s online outburst against her, Sona wrote on Facebook:

So Ms Dua, internet comedienne & daughter of Vinod Dua, journalist, powerful media person & power broker finally unblocked me on twitter to say this. I don’t know the said person who took his life personally but know many people who know that he had been battling alcoholism & loss of work & many projects therefore & for many many years, apart from a disturbed personal life.

That he took his life is nothing to do with MeToo & if at all, maybe an indication of his own guilt? So who is supposed to feel guilty? The victims? Me? The movement? Why?

I have only this to say to this spoilt entitled privileged brat of a daddy’s lil Mallika girl..

‘You called out, abused & spewed angry rants about several men accused who are also somebody else’s daddy, all until your daddy was also called out in IndiaMeToo by a much feted filmmaker & acclaimed professional, Nishtha Jain & then subsequently even other women, all of whom had nothing to gain. None of us have gained anything, if anything we’ve lost work & have been punished for standing up while most of the accused have been rehabilitated & even feted.

Your values & belief systems need a check Ms Dua. Your feminism of convenience isn’t fooling anyone.’

Also, regarding your second tweet I have this to say,

-I am not bringing up your Mom or Sister or Chacha in this conversation. Dad only because u choose to defend his possibly shady past & write in to me. So saying Ram Sampath who has no connection to this story, low brow.

- Your 40 pages (Please share with public cus nobody has seen this) & even so counts for zilch. Even Alok Nath has legally strong-armed the case of Vinta Nanda. Doesn’t make him right.

Don’t Miss This: Sameera Reddy Shames Trolls For Slamming Post-Pregnancy Bodies

Mallika Trolled On Internet

Mallika Dua had been trolled earlier on the internet for being a feminist comedienne and then defending her father. Many fans had called her out for the same and many people are again trolling her for taking on Sona. Check out the Twitter reactions:

Well,for once she is https://t.co/yPJJQNIRrU did go underground as soon as papaji was caught in #MeToo .That WAS the point.Don’t hide behind nonsensical issue(not that you can hide behind anyone/anything).

— Purple (@Dafruity) March 24, 2019

Mallika Dua keeps making a bad situation worse.

— Sunanda (@YoursLegallyy) March 24, 2019

@MallikaDua u r a disgrace to the comedy fraternity

— Anish Nayak (@anishnayak007) March 24, 2019

Will this discussion ever reach an end? Not any time soon. The #MeToo movement opened a Pandora’s Box where the lines are pretty much blurred now when it comes to accusations. But just launching a war of words online is not going to help it. We need stronger voices, we need evidence and we need action.

Want to know about the timeline of the #MeToo Movement or how to deal with workplace harassment? Then keep reading Her Zindagi.

Recommended Video