Last week, Bombay High Court’s

granted bail to actor-singer

, who was in judicial custody. He was arrested after a tantrik-cum-healer accused him of rape and extortion. Since his arrest, close friends of the actor, including

, had been vocal on social media about the case and how they felt that Karan has been wrongly accused.

Tonight, Pooja is hosting a dinner at her house, where Karan’s friends and supporters will come together to welcome him home. In a chat with Bombay Times, she speaks about the ordeal that they all went through in the last one month, the tremendous support from lawyers and activists across the country, and the overwhelming backing that the #MenToo movement has received so far…

‘There are 600 cases like Karan’s in just

’

On his way back home from the jail, Karan did a video chat with Pooja, who could not personally be by his side. She says, “Karan was smiling, teary-eyed and overwhelmed with gratitude to see all the love and support pouring in from so many quarters. It has been an extremely traumatic experience for him. He sounded upbeat to be out, but I could see the wear and tear on his face from being in jail for a month. He is now determined to take this forward and make sure that this does not happen to any other man. He said that there were 600 cases similar to his in just Taloja jail (Navi Mumbai). Imagine the state across the country.”

Taking the #MenToo movement forward

The #MenToo movement has been gathering tremendous momentum in the last month. And now, a huge number of people, including lawyers and activists, are holding a public rally in

from 11 am to 1 pm on June 15. Pooja says, “The rally will see supporters of #MenToo, and Karan along with his Band Of Boys (his music group). They will sing a couple of songs to highlight the issue. We are going to take bytes of people, and capture the sentiment about fake cases that is gripping the nation. We want to start changing things and are taking concrete measures to ensure that this initiative gains momentum.”

‘We are working towards making legislative changes’

Pooja, along with an entire team including experts and lawyers, are working towards making changes in the legislation, which is the need of the hour. “Prominent lawyers across the country have come forward with different suggestions, information, clauses, supportive laws and cases to back our appeal for #MenToo and why we need it. They have brought forth many clauses, different laws that need amendment and different ways to prosecute women for fake cases. Lawyers are helping us to formulate an entire way forward for #MenToo and advising us how to make legislative changes in Parliament and in the

of India.”