'Casino Royale' actress Caterina Murino was sleepless over rape cases in India

Pic Courtesy: Movie Still

Noida: Italian actress Caterina Murino, who featured in Bond film "Casino Royale" and is making her Bollywood debut with “Fever”, says she spent sleepless nights when the December 2012 gang rape case came to the fore. She has urged the Indian government to come up with stricter laws to check the rape menace.

Caterina, who played Solange Dimitrios in "Casino Royale", visited the IANS headquarter here on Friday to promote "Fever" when she became emotional as she spoke about her worries about women safety in India.

“I can't leave India without saying this... Since December 2012, I was so concerned about all the girls in India and the problems they have in general.

"After the case in New Delhi, I wasn't able to sleep for months thinking about the last hours of life of this girl. Unfortunately since that moment, I keep reading about how all women are going to strike and asking the government to increase the penalties for rapists,” she said.

“The government and Prime Minister really have to do something seriously,” stressed the actress, who works on humanitarian causes in Africa.

India earned global notoriety after a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was brutally gang raped in a bus in New Delhi on December 16, 2012. 

Caterina was appalled by the news, and made it a point to follow the story. She feels the guilty who committed the heinous crime are “not fit to be called men”. 

“The government has to do something. They have to ensure that the laws are strongly enforced. They have to ensure police take these kinds of crime seriously. Because I am reading that when women go in front of police and say what happened -- it is a nightmare for them. 

“The government and the Prime Minister need to make a different law. I believe it is also about education. They should establish a programme in schools to make kids come up with the thought - 'I don't have to rape a woman not only because I will be punished', but also that 'I don't have to rape a woman because it's wrong'.”

A visibly emotional Caterina said she works a lot for the health of African women and children.

"So, I was like I'm coming to India... And I am with women in India to fight against this.”

Caterina is in India for the promotional activities of “Fever”, which also stars Rajeev Khandelwal and Gauahar Khan. The film will hit the screens in India on August 5. 

She says she had no security concerns before coming to the country. 

“Every single week all over the world there is one news about rape. There are articles in Europe about that... It makes me think about how many are hiding and about girls who don’t have the courage to complain.”