After 66-year-old actress Daisy Irani revealed she was raped when six years old, her nephew Farhan Akhtar tweeted to say that as much as he is “heartbroken” to have learnt about it, he is rather “proud” of his aunt too.
Daisy Irani is Farhan Akhtar’s mother Honey Irani’s sister. “Heartbroken upon reading this article but proud that my aunt Daisy Irani spoke up. It’s tragic to see parents push their kids to the breaking point in order to achieve success vicariously through them. This should serve as wake up call for the film and TV industry. Be aware. Be warned, the actor-filmmaker added in his tweet. ” read Farhan Akhtar’s tweet.
Daisy Irani starred as a child artiste in movies like Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke, Naya Daur, Boot Polish and Jagte Raho. In a recent interview Daisy Irani said she was raped in a hotel room by her very own guardian who was appointed by her mother to accompany her on an outdoor shoot when she was six.
Daisy Irani said she can only “recall the incident in flashes” but “I do remember the killing pain, and the visual of him belting me.” Revealing that the man was well-connected to the film industry and that she was threatened to keep silent, she told Mumbai Mirror: “The man who did this was supposed to be my guardian. He accompanied me to shoot Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke in Madras. One night in the hotel room he violated me, hit me with a belt and warned me that he would kill me if I ever told anyone about what had happened.”
Daisy Irani also added that her mother, who was “hell-bent on making her a star”, got to know about the incident several years later and that the man is no longer alive now.
“Child actors have it tough. In a majority of cases, they have been taken advantage of. Maybe a few have had it easy, but most don’t, really,” she added in her interview.