Actress Raveena Tandon has cancelled plans to promote her upcoming movie Maatr – The Mother on The Viral Fever (TVF), following the sexual harassment allegations against its founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar.
"I was not aware of the controversy as I was in New York and in the middle of a snow storm," Raveena said in a statement.
"Our film deals with a very strong message about zero tolerance to any form of violence or abuse against women. The film's producers and actors feel that until allegations against the producer and the channel are proven wrong, we will refrain from promoting the film or any of the actors appearing on the said show," she added.
TVF is an online entertainment platform that satirises Indian politics, movies, life-style, and the social system.
Maatr co-producer Anjum Rizvi pointed out: "Raveena's character is a working woman. Our film has been inspired by incidents which are happening in India today. Right now, we felt we should not get into it, so we have opted out of the TVF show."
"It's a sensitive issue and we have to handle everything with care and not use whatever tools and means possible. We need to be careful of how we promote the film."
Rizvi said that "Raveena is a vocal personality and doesn't mince her words".
"She is also involved in every aspect of the film as the subject is very close to her heart. As filmmakers, we can raise issues, though we can't come up with solutions. We are just highlighting the issue, but talks about whether women should or should not take law into their hands and how long they should wait for justice to be meted out," said the co-producer.