Felt guilty for not knowing what he was up to: Farhan on allegations against Sajid Khan

Actor Farhan Akhtar says he feels a sense of guilt for not being aware of the indecent behaviour of his cousin Sajid Khan, who has been accused of sexual harassment by several women.Sajid was accused of sexual harassment by two women — actor Saloni Chopra and a journalist, following which he stepped down as the director of “Housefull 4”.
When the allegations had surfaced, Farhan, who has been a vocal supporter of #MeToo movement, was one of the first celebrities to react and had termed them as “shocking.” “Everytime something like this has happened in the public domain, I’ve been very vocal with my opinion. When it came to someone within my family, I felt silence on that front would be very, very hypocritical,” Farhan said.”So pretty much on the first day when three women came out and spoke, I felt it was important for me to speak out. Sajid, being my brother, I need to now work with him, try to figure out how he can see this thing through and how it is that he can make the women who have been affected by his actions, somehow feel better,” he added. The actor was in conversation with journalist Barkha Dutt at We The Women event here. When Barkha said an apology alone would not suffice as sexual violation is a crime, Farhan said, “Absolutely. Whether stuff like this needs to go into the ambit of court is for them to decide. These are the things he (Sajid) has to face.” “To start with apologising is a big step. To say ‘I am sorry about what I did’ is a big step, it can make a person feel a lot better,” he added.Farhan said when he first heard about the accusations against his cousin, he had conflicted emotions. “It was surprise, disappointment and strangely, because when it’s a member of your family, you also feel a certain level of guilt. It’s happened to all of us in the past when we hear something like this and say ‘but how come someone so close to him didn’t know.’