Men's rights activist and documentary filmmaker Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj has praised Anurag Kashyap's upcoming film 'Bandar' for initiating what she called a long-overdue conversation around men's rights, men's welfare, legal rights, justice and the traumatic challenges faced by men in modern society.

Speaking during an interview with a leading news channel, Bhardwaj praised the makers of the movie for taking up a subject that she believes has remained largely absent from mainstream discourse despite affecting countless lives.

"I would like to thank the entire team of 'Bandar' for making this film in the first place because I strongly believe that justice needs to be there for everyone, and it cannot be a factor of gender. That's what my work has focused on for the last 14 years. It is extremely, extremely tough to even speak up for men, very tough.”

According to Bhardwaj, discussions around justice often become selective, while stories involving male victims rarely receive the same attention. She argued that acknowledging the struggles faced by men should not be viewed as being against women, but rather as part of a larger conversation about equal justice and empathy.

“Why should we not talk about lives? We talk about the troubled lives of women, but today Aman Dwivedi has died by suicide in Kanpur, making very serious allegations against his wife and mother-in-law. Judge Aman Sharma in Delhi died by suicide, a young judge who accused his wife and sister-in-law of torturing him. His father was told by his wife, 'Get out, otherwise I'm going to call the police right now.' And then he hanged himself.”

“In the last five or six days, we have documented 20 cases of men dying by suicide or being murdered by their wives. Are these not lives? That is my only question."

Bhardwaj further argued that one of the biggest obstacles in discussing men's issues is the fear of social backlash. She stated how conversations surrounding male victims are often dismissed before they can even begin, making it difficult for many men to seek support or share their experiences publicly.

Drawing from years of documentation and advocacy work, she maintained that while laws meant to protect women are essential, discussions around their implementation and alleged misuse should not be considered taboo.

"And let me be very candid over here. Laws have been made for a purpose, to serve justice to women. If today a four-year, five-year, or ten-year consensual relationship is being reported as rape, then we need to have a conversation.”

“When we talk about numbers, I have been researching these issues for years. Almost half of the reported rape cases in India are cases of rape on the false promise of marriage. We see these cases every single day. These people have been in relationships for years, and just because the marriage did not happen, it is reported as rape.”

Deepika further stated, “Now imagine a scenario where a woman decides she does not want to marry the man she has been dating. Imagine if we said that she has now committed rape because she is not marrying that man. That does not happen. It may be a breach of promise, or it may not be. But what is the immediate aftermath? The man is jailed."

The activist also highlighted what she described as the severe social consequences faced by men accused of serious offences, arguing that public perception often turns against them long before investigations are completed.

"These men who are lodged in jail on rape charges, I remember a statement that also appears in the trailer, one person tells Bobby Deol's character, 'Say you have come for murder, but don't say you have come for rape.'

I recently met a man who was sodomized inside a jail. People who enter prison on charges of rape or POCSO, no matter how innocent they may be, are treated the worst inside our jails.”

She firmly stated, “If there is an innocent life, why should we not talk about it? It is very sad that every time there is even the slightest conversation about men, it is brushed aside."

Referring to several cases she has documented over the years, Bhardwaj claimed that incidents involving alleged male victims of violence, abuse, and emotional trauma very rarely make headlines despite their seriousness.

Citing real-life traumatic incidents of male victims of abuse by women, Deepika stated, "This is Shyam Rohail from Sonipat, not very far from Delhi. Five litres of acid were poured on him simply because he refused a marriage proposal from a woman he had met a couple of months earlier. He was a young boy of 21 years. Nobody spoke about this life.”

Citing another example, she revealed, “This is Suraj Saini from Delhi. His wife filed multiple rape cases and had married multiple men. He went to the police and said that his wife was threatening to kill him. Later, she allegedly poured boiling water mixed with chilli on him. Nobody in the media reported it. We don't even speak up about these cases."

Further lauding 'Bandar', Bhardwaj said the film appears to mirror realities that many people are uncomfortable discussing. She believes the project could serve as a catalyst for wider conversations on men's welfare, mental health, legal rights, and the principle that justice should not be viewed through the lens of gender alone.

Talking about ‘Bandar’, the movie that stars Bobby Deol in the lead, has been directed by Anurag Kashyap and produced by Nikhil Dwivedi under the banner of Saffron Magicworks. 

The movie also stars Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Pabbi, Saba Azad, Indrajith Sukumaran, Raj B Shetty, Jeetendra Joshi, Nagesh Bhonsle and others. The movie backed by ZEE Studios releases on June 5.