Bollywood condemns teenage actor's alleged mid-air molestation

Mumbai: Bollywood celebrities like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt and Taapsee Pannu denounced the alleged molestation involving a teenage actress as "sad and shameful". The 17-year-old actress said she experienced the ordeal -- wherein a middle-aged man seated behind her moved his foot up and down her neck and back -- while she was travelling from Delhi to Mumbai on a flight. The accused has been arrested. Bollywood's women brigade had strong reactions on the incident, which was shared by the victim via social media. Kareena said: "I think women are way more superior than men. We are fighters and whatever the situation might be in our life -- be it personal or professional -- we all come out as fighters. "Like I said before, we call our god Laxmi, we pray to her and she is a woman, and when we talk about our land, we call it motherland... So, women are way more superior. We will fight out of every situation in life." Alia urged girls to raise their voice against any injustice. "As a woman, it feels disgusting to hear such things. Women should raise their voice against these kind of things if this is happening with them," she said at the red carpet of Lux Golden Rose Awards here on Sunday night. Taapsee Pannu, known for the iconic film "Pink" which addressed the issue of sexual harassment, said: "I must appreciate the confidence that she has shown by putting it on social media." Bhumi Pednekar said she was "appalled". "She is a child. This is a problem in our culture... People think, especially if you are an actress, that you are their property and that mindset is a very big issue. I am very glad that she took a stand and spoke up about it because that needs a lot of courage. More power to her." Actress-model Urvashi Rautela said: "It's very bad that such kind of incidents are happening in India." Mouni Roy said: "On one hand, we talk about women empowerment and on the other hand, we see women's molestation. It's very sad. It's high time and we have to raise voice against it."