After a video of musician Papon kissing an underage contestant of "Voice India Kids" went viral on social media, the Bollywood industry reacted furiously. Wrote filmmaker Ashoke Pandit on Twitter, "Papon's body language and his brash attitude while abusing the child is a sign of arrogance and complete disregard for the law. This is a benchmark trait of every powerful sexual predator."
#Papon body language and his brash attitude while abusing the child is a sign of arrogance and complete disregard for the law. This is a benchmark trait of every powerful sexual predator
— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) February 23, 2018
Wrote singer Suchitra Krishnamoorti, " If anybody behaved with my daughter the way Papon did with the teenage girl I would slap him several times in such a way that no one dared behave that way again.
If anybody behaved with my daughter the way #Papon did with the teenage girl I would slap him several times in such a way that no one dared behave that way again
— Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (@suchitrak) February 23, 2018
Wrote actor Gauahar Khan: "Wasn't smothering a child's face with your palm rubbing colour all over it for four seconds enough as fatherly love, that you had to pull the child's face then to strategically peck her on the lip. There was no wrong camera angle or the child moving her face mistakenly."
Wasn't smothering a child's face with your palm rubbing color all over it for 4 secs enough as fatherly love, that u had to pull the child's face then to strategically peck her on the lip??? There was no wrong camera angle or the child moving her face mistakenly BTW 🙄😡#papon👎
— Gauahar Khan (@GAUAHAR_KHAN) February 23, 2018
However, the child's father had come out in support of Papon, calling him a "father figure" to his daughter, reported PTI.
"It was just a moment of affection that is being portrayed otherwise. I would request and urge the media to not pursue this further. He doesn't differentiate among the children who are here and gives them equal guidance on pursuing their dreams. What you saw in the video is not intentional," he said in a statement.
Earlier, Supreme Court lawyer Runa Bhuyan filed the complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights against Papon under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act.
Papon himself had denied that he had no malafide intent. "My humble request to everyone, when you do come across this matter is to just pause and think about how much harm this does to the people involved. I have a loving wife of over 14 years and two young children. There is a little girl involved, whose identity is not masked in any way. Both of our families are being destroyed forever, just by people jumping to conclusions."
"However, this is not to say that I haven't made a mistake. I might have done it spontaneously but in today's environment, to touch a girl child, however innocent your thoughts are, is not advisable. I am sorry for that. Please do accuse me of being naive and stupid even but please do not call me all those disgusting names," he said in a statement.
Inputs from agencies