Sona Mohapatra: Didn't think about career before sharing #MeToo story

Sona Mohapatra

Singer Sona Mohapatra, who accused singers Kailash Kher and Anu Malik of sexual misconduct, says she didn't think about how sharing her #MeToo story will impact her music career because it was for the bigger cause of a better future for the country.

Sona interacted with the media at a press conference for Zee TV's singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa along with her co-judges Wajid Khan, Shekhar Ravjiani on Wednesday. The Piya se naina singer was one of the first artistes from the music industry who made allegation against big names like Kailash and Anu when the #MeToo fire raged in India.

Asked whether she will take legal recourse for the matter like some other women have taken in their respective cases, she said: "The truth is that the ongoing campaign has got collective voice. This movement is happening all around the country.

"Along with the women, there are good men as well who want to see the change in the society. So, I am not the only one who is speaking about it. I think anyone, including the media, can file a complaint against these kinds of cases because nobody needs to be a bystander in this issue. A lot of people have found the courage to talk about their experience after I shared my story on social media."

Sona said she didn't think about her music career before sharing her own experience. "I appreciate Zee TV and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa who gave opportunity to outspoken individual like me to judge their show because when I shared my story, I didn't think about how it will impact my singing or my musical career as it was for the bigger cause of a better future for the country.

"We all want that our country should move towards a positive direction and the garbage gets thrown out of the system and society. We are looking forward to such kind of evenings where we will have genuine celebrations and I think we are all counting on better days." Sona said.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa will see a confluence of musical genres as contestants from the across India will share the stage. On that, Sona said: "We have performers from various music genres like ghazals, classical, folk and pop on this show. This time, we haven't set an age bracket for the contestant on the show. I think it gets boring when you hear only one type of singing when we have so much diversity in our country.

"The makers of the show have chosen their judges from different backgrounds of music to create that balance on the show. Sometimes, we don't agree with each other's opinion and speak our mind. So in that process, we get to learn from each other. I think this edition of 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' will be remembered as usual for its talent."

Also Read: Shekhar Suman On #MeToo: Is The Women's Revolution Over?

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