Siddharth Shaw, who played a negative role in Divya Dutta’s web series, left everyone impressed with his performance as Arun. Siddharth received a lot of hate comments on social media after watching him playing an abusive husband in the JioHotstar web series. For the unversed, his character forcefully rapes his wife, played by Prasanna Bisht, on the first night of their wedding without her consent. Recently, in an exclusive interaction with Zoom, Siddharth Shaw opened up about men’s consent and explained why it also matters the most. He also recalled a personal experience of saying ‘no’ to a girl.
A Man’s No Is Also A No
In our society, consent is often used for women. However, when it comes to men, the topic never gets discussed openly. In fact, if a man says no, society often judges him for it. During a candid interaction with us, we asked Siddharth Shaw about men’s consent and society’s mindset towards it.
The Chiraiya actor said, “Yes, absolutely. Consent matters to men as well. Sadly, it is being ignored by people. Men’s choices, wishes and other things are taken for granted. Why can’t people understand a man’s ‘no’ is also ‘no’?”
also recalled his personal experience of saying no to his partner in the past. He also revealed that people questioned him for his emotional breakdown while performing intimate scenes for his web show.
Siddharth Shaw on people’s response to his performance in Chiraiya. (Credit: Instagram)
The actor said, “There have been certain times in my personal life where I have said NO. And my ‘NO’ has not been respected by a woman. Isn’t that wrong? When news about me crying while shooting a marital rape scene came out, some people around questioned my emotional outburst. Is it wrong for a boy to cry? Is it wrong for me to express my emotions? Am I not a man enough if I cry? Why can’t I cry out loud? It is an open question.”
A Man Can Also Cry
Siddharth Shaw also explained how people say that men shouldn’t cry. He recalled how he had forgotten crying after going to the boarding school. Siddharth said, “When I was growing up, people around me would say, ‘Boys don’t cry.’ When I was sent to a boarding school, I cried during my 8th standard. But for the next four years, I forgot how to cry. I had literally forgotten how to cry. My body had completely blocked me from crying. Now, I cry very easily. There is nothing wrong with crying. Men can also cry. It should be normalised in society. Man can feel. A man’s no is also a no. Not to disregard the opposite gender. It is an equilibrium.”
When asked about the growing rape cases in several big cities of India, the actor said, “There is a sense of duty to find out why it is happening. As a human, one should talk about such matters and consent.”
Coming back to Chiraiya, the web series received a lot of praise for its powerful content and performances. It also features Sanjay Mishra, Prasanna Bisht, Sarita Joshi, Faisal Rashid and Tinnu Anand in key roles.