01/1211 times Bollywood actresses' take on feminism was on point

11 times Bollywood actresses' take on feminism was on point
Our Bollywood actresses are more than the movies they act in, the airport looks and various Bollywood parties. Some of these actresses had to prove their mark in the industry they made their own career as they did not have any Godfather in the industry. The actresses have to time and again prove everyone that they should be treated as equal in the society. Many of them decided to walk a path that wasn’t considered the norm, and, form. These actresses never fail to express their opinion and they don’t even shy away nowadays. These actresses have to face gender inequality the same way we common people face them. Much of us have been told to ignore them but these actresses have come forward and broke some of those norms, and we need to take inspiration from them for their bold avatar and to support us to fight for inequality. Here are 11 actresses’ perfect take on feminism.readmore

02/12Neena Gupta

Neena Gupta
“Because I am known they say arey tumne kya kiya . But in India, there are so many poor women who are forced to be single mothers. The only difference with me was that I did it by choice. It was very tough and I wanted to do it, but I always tell people that it was a wrong decision, as it is very difficult to bring up a child alone. You make a child suffer due to your wish and whim. Child does not have that side of the family. Because I was working, I could not even get married and have a sibling for her. My friends told me don't do this, but I was young and had the nasha , so did it. I feel it was very tough for me and I did my best. But I had to do bad movies, as I needed the money to bring her up. I lost my mother to cancer, so once Masaba was born, my father moved from Old Delhi to live with me in Mumbai. He became the man of the house till he died five years back. He also was my anchor, even though initially, he was dead against my decision to go ahead with my pregnancy. Even though he was very orthodox, once he knew that I had decided, he stood by me like a rock. Masaba was jealous of him as he loved me more than her. It's so strange that God has had his way of looking after me. I used to always think that God will give me a man when my father dies and that is what happened. As soon as I got married to my present husband Vivek, my father died, Neena Gupta said.”readmore

03/12Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi
Talking about her films she said, “It is. But where have the women been visible in cinema, before now? Earlier, our "women-oriented" films were movies called Main Chup Rahungi. So it didn't matter that the female actor was the lead protagonist, her character was being used to tell us that silence is a virtue in women. There were all these stereotypes: the suffering wife, forgiving mother, understanding sister. There was also a very clear division between the heroine and the vamp, where all the virtue was invested in the heroine, and because of our colonial history, the vamp was someone who was safely blue-eyed and golden-haired, a foreigner you could lust after, if need be.” She further said, “If you saw a Hindi film until even 10 years ago, you would think that Indian women basically wear yellow chiffon saris and dance in the Alps.”readmore

04/12Sushmita Sen

Sushmita Sen
She once wrote, “WHY STILL #SINGLE they ask??? WHY NOT? I answer 'I AM' secure in my choice and in being so, I can respect and appreciate another's choice..whatever it may be!!! After all, "singles or doubles, we play to win"As for me, let's just say, "I am yet to meet that SIRE, who loves to play with FIRE" #enoughsaid #mmuuaah.” She also said, ““We are all unique and we are somehow always told by everyone else, this is the right age to get married, this is the right age to have children, this is the right age to retire, I just wanted to take life at my own clock because I believe everybody’s unique.” Sushmita also expressed, “We are all unique and we are somehow always told by everyone else, this is the right age to get married, this is the right age to have children, this is the right age to retire, I just wanted to take life at my own clock because I believe everybody’s unique.” The actress also expressed, “She” we celebrate, “she” we do not objectify! With the number of children in orphanages, it is imperative that laws of that country support adoption. The good thing is that I’ve never made any “sacrifices” for my children. Because when you put sacrifice as an element, you tend to let the child feel the pressure of “I did this for you. I love my father. He once told someone “Please look at my daughter. Do you think I’ve raised her in a way that her only identity is to be someone’s wife?”readmore

05/12Suhasini Mulay

Suhasini Mulay
The actress made headlines everywhere for her marriage that she did in 2011 with a 65-year-old! At that time, Suhasini just entered her sixties. “I was wary because I had met him online. He was from a completely different profession. For him, the Atom is the biggest concern. My knowledge of these things is as good as yours. I googled his name and found his resume interesting. His pictures on Facebook and on the TIFR site matched so I knew he was not a fake. We started chatting in July last year. “Atul (my husband) is a widower. He had been married for 36 years and his wife died about six years ago. He had written this article about how he discovered she had cancer. After the initial period of depression, rather than sitting and crying over it, he decided to make her as happy as he could. So, for the next 4-5 years they did everything they ever wanted to do. Learning this hooked me to him.I had never thought of settling down. I had started believing I was always going to live alone. Marriage was the last thing on my agenda. I have never been married but had a very long live-in relationship that ended in 1990. I came to Mumbai in 2000 and have lived alone for 20 years. My family was very surprised. When I rang up my sister, she asked me if I was drunk. After I told her everything, she said ‘Hang on, now I need a drink’. It was funny.”readmore

06/12Kalki Koechlin

Kalki Koechlin
The actress said, “But there are people who are an exception to [Bollywood's wage gap], you have Kangana in ‘Rangoon’ who was paid more than her male counterparts, Priyanka who is one of the more highly paid women. But it hasn't become mainstream yet." She had also expressed, "Objectification of women is very predominant, but I am happy that gradually things are changing. ‘Piku’ and ‘Queen’, both women-oriented films, brought a fresh change in Bollywood. I don't have a problem with hero-based films but we have very few heroine-oriented movies. That writing needs to change. If it's not happening, make it happen." She further added, "I think Bollywood is a reflection of society, if the society looks down upon women, so will our films. All of us are to be blamed for the objectification of women in the society. Parents treating boys better than girls, teachers separating boys and girls talking to each other, sexist jokes in the office, stereotyping women in films etc." One of her best quotes was, "No gender is fairer than the other. Women are not doormats. We are equivalent to men. It is just that we have different bodies and different biological needs. We have capacities which should be celebrated and rewarded in the society." She also expressed, "Remember Draupadi? Draupadi married off to the five Pandavas? She garlanded only Arjun, but they said, 'Marry all of us.' Five husbands. That can't be fun. God knows, in fact everybody knows I have enough trouble with just one." She also said, "Feminism often becomes more about male bashing and about women's groups coming together and fighting for things which are more than just equal rights. Feminism is a big umbrella. But from what I gather, people don't want to be looked upon as those who don't like men. If you look it up in the dictionary, feminism means equality of sexes."readmore

07/12Konkona Sensharma

Konkona Sensharma
Konkona Sensharma expressed, "I'm surprised feminism's been getting such a bad rep of late, because the minute you believe in equality, whether you want the label or not, you already are a feminist. Right now, patriarchy is part of our being in such an insidious way—in things as simple as design! I've read that cellphones are larger because they're designed for male hands (which are bigger than ours) and even seatbelts are as uncomfortable as they are because they weren't designed with breasts in mind. I think the day we start to really make place for women, only then will feminism actually become redundant." She further said, “I am very aware of this and it troubles me I see that there are so many everyday instances of gender inequality that happen around him. In our neighbourhood, kids play football in the evening and once I had a conversation with my son about the fact that it was boys who were playing and the girls were nowhere to be seen. I feel it is important to have such conversations and make your child aware of gender because in so many un-thinking ways they can learn about patriarchy.”readmore

08/12Richa Chadda

Richa Chadda
The actress said, "Women are trolled all the time, it is not because it's a holy month of Ramadan or anything. Even on any other normal day if she would have put picture like this, then also there would have been horrible comments." She also said that "People can only comment on things, so it shouldn't matter much. I don’t see that happening immediately given the culture of naming and shaming in our country. But when it happens, as it is happening in Hollywood right now, the entire power structure will change. People, who you see making feminist films and claiming to be progressive etc, they will all come tumbling down.” She further said, “We will lose a lot of heroes and several people will lose their lives’ work, their legacies. I think that’s what people will attack -- they can’t attack them monetarily so they will go after the legacies. And it will happen, I would think in the next four-five years.” “When I came to Bollywood, I was asked to send messages to an actor. I was suggested to go on a date with him. When I said he is married then I was asked to strike a friendship with any cricketer. I used to get such advises. Today, I have very few friends in the film industry.”readmore

09/12Kangana Ranaut

Kangana Ranaut
The ‘Queen’ actress said, “I feel that we, as Indians, have a knack for loving a stereotypical, sobbing, sympathy-seeking personality. I feel that we need to promote quirky, cool and youthful talent. We have to stop propagating the sob-story angle of celebs, where they try to be larger-than-life. That is very outdated. It is so boring that it puts you to sleep.” She further added, “Success is the best revenge. I always feel women should answer back either with their sarcasm or success.” She also once said, “Imagine: in the medieval ages, there was no evidence of how the history of mankind has been affected by witchcraft. But there is significant factual history of how brutality and sadism of mankind have been displayed in the most obscene manner in the name of witch-hunt. I need nothing from my companion. No money, no financial security, no emotional support, nothing. All I want is the freedom to be myself.” The actress further said, “I don't know if it is of any joy to humiliate people. No matter what, whether you're high in life or low in life, humiliation and such kinds of things should just be ignored. I don't derive any pleasure from running people down.” “Why should Bollywood accept me? I should accept Bollywood. I don't care if Bollywood has accepted me. I don't seek acceptance. I don't need to live up to anybody's expectations.” The best one was, “If a woman is super-successful, she is called a psychopath.”readmore

10/12Waheeda Rehman

Waheeda Rehman
"Director Shakti Samanta told me I couldn't be seen in a bikini because it would make me seem 'frivolous'. Another time, at a success party that Dev saab threw for 'Guide', I danced with the choreographer and once again Samanta told me, 'A heroine is not supposed to talk in public, smile in public, or dance in public. She is supposed to sit quietly in a corner," Sharmila recalled. From her CBFC chairmanship days - "I viewed the department as a bridge between civil society, the industry and the government," Sharmila said - to her role as a Unicef goodwill ambassador. "A lot needs to be done at the grassroots level for women's empowerment, but the fact that we are talking about it suggests things are changing for the Indian woman. I think 'equal opportunity' is what true woman's empowerment stands for," Sharmila said. "Guru Dutt thought I looked like a girl, too young to play the wife in Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam. And looking back, I think he was right," recalled Waheeda Rehman who described Dutt as "a passionate filmmaker whose constant thought was making movies. He sent VK Murthy to London so that he could watch the shooting of Guns of Navarone and learn from it". "Recently when I visited Bhuj, a guide pointed out to me that the song Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai may have been the first truly feminist song in Hindi cinema," she said.readmore