Television queen Ekta Kapoor works quickly. While Shiney Ahuja is still languishing in police custody awaiting trial for the allegedly raping his maid, a television drama depicting a fictionalized account of the crime is set air in early October.
Shiney Ahuja was arrested on June 15th earlier this year after his housemaid filed a report against him, saying that he had raped her and threatened her life. Medical reports appear to confirm the maid’s story and Shiney has been in police custody ever since he was arrested. Ekta’s drama, “Betaab Dil Ki Tamanna Hai” will star Salim Ghouse in the role of rapist and, as one can imagine for such a shocking subject, is not without its own controversy.
Publicly responding to criticism from entertainment executives who are wary of airing a show dealing with rape, Ekta shot back, “I will pull out the serial but I won’t make any changes. BDKTH was born from my genuine concern about the lives of female house helps in Mumbai. What makes them vulnerable to sexual attack in a city that’s supposed to provide safety to women belonging to all sections of society?”
And despite her sensational topic, Ekta insists that her work is based on fact. “What I came to know [about the treatment of house maids] shocked me. The Shiney Ahuja incident is not an isolated one. Men from the highest sections of society get sexually and emotionally attracted to their house help. I wanted to explore this fatal attraction.”
The way things are going for Shiney Ahuja, it’s likely we’ll see what happens to his fictional counterpart before his own case is resolved. And if the drama does well, maybe Ekta will have a role for him when he is finally released from jail, to say thank you.
