BackUNDERSTATEMENT: Lovely but unfair?
Sonakshi Sinha slams weight watchers but who must take responsibility for the gold bleach she endorses?
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Female film stars standing up to nonsensical sections of the tabloid media who deride them for weight gain or zero in on their cleavage instead of their merit makes good copy. Deepika Padukone told off a major newspaper by snapping that yes, she was a woman with a cleavage and breasts and woe befall those who had a problem with that while Sonakshi Sinha gave a thumbs down to idle idiots slamming her for her weight issues. She also posted via Instagram a picture of a skeleton. Then she went on to damn fashion critics who don’t find her stylish.
The moment one of these girls says something irreverent, claps go on for three and a half days. Loud claps these because we love “voice" especially coming from those we perceive as pouty, pretty but essentially opinion-less. Then, social media sites go abuzz and the imaginary cudgels which Netizens take up on behalf of these glamour girls victimized by sensation-seeking journalists reveal which way the wind is blowing among lay people. If you take time out to read the comments under each such story, it is clear that everybody loves a glamour girl with a mind. Or an Actress who Axes indignity.
But unless Deepika or Sonakshi are consistent in their actions, they not may not find it easy to join the club of true-blooded feminists. To keep up her tirade against those who chide her for her weight, Sonakshi, for instance, may not only have to stay committed to her chosen viewpoint but refuse films that force her to lose weight. Would she do that? It is laudable to tick off the fashion police and stick to what you like to wear but would Sinha consider sticking to her own sense in clothes even for a fashion magazine cover or then would follow the diktats of a magazine stylist? Would she style herself for a red carpet event in the gaze of a thousand flashbulbs? Or, would Deepika stop giving interviews to the newspaper which demeaned her so?
When you sit down to dig, a labyrinth of interconnected issues open up. For now, let’s just think of Sonakshi Sinha’s endorsement of FEM gold bleach? In its ad, she tells you how the bleach doesn’t use ammonia and instead uses real gold. While no one needs a film star to tell you that artificial lightening of skin cannot be possible without a bleaching agent (ammonia or otherwise), a process riddled by potential side effects, shouldn’t Sinha know better than to endorse fake fairness?
‘Don’t criticize me for my weight but it is okay if I tell you to lighten your skin with a bleach’--isn’t a good enough fight Ms Sinha. Standing up for your rights is a pointed choice; it involves larger conviction in a range of issues. Here the problem seems to be that you want to stay who you are and have people respect your struggles with weight or your choices in fashion. Fair enough. Why then tell dark women to lighten their skin and stop being who they are?
Feminism is a fair and lovely path. A bleached appearance though may not be equally bright.
This series is a comment on popular culture statements made through actions or words. Shefalee Vasudev is the author of Powder Room: The Untold Story of Indian Fashion.
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