India — Actor Taapsee Pannu, who has often commented on the unfair treatment of women in the film industry, has wondered why men aren’t trolled when they put up ‘half-naked’ pictures of themselves on social media.
The debate around a woman’s freedom to wear what she pleases was recently reignited after comments made by Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat, who drew flak for saying that women wearing ripped jeans made him wonder what values they were giving to children, as the attire “paves the way for societal breakdown and is a bad example parents set for children.”
Asked why women, particularly TV actors, face the brunt of online abuse when they post pictures of themselves in swimsuits, Taapsee told a leading daily, “As far as my observation goes, I have seen women, in general, being abused when they put out their pictures in a bikini but the same doesn’t happen to men when they put out their half-naked pictures from the gym or beach.”
Taapsee herself was trolled for wearing a bikini in the film Judwaa 2. Reacting to her tweet sharing the pictures, a person had commented in 2017, “In our country, we have freedom of expression, so why don’t you remove the remaining clothes also. Your brother must be feeling proud of you after watching this.” In response, Taapsee had written, “Sorry, Bhai hai nahi varna pakka puch ke bataati. Abhi ke liye behen ka answer chalega (Sorry I don’t have a brother, otherwise I would’ve asked him and told you. But for now, will my sister’s reply work)?”
Several members of the film industry reacted to the Uttarakhand CM’s comments. Jaya Bachchan told ANI, “Those in higher posts must think and make public statements. You say such things in today’s times, you will decide who’s cultured and who’s not based on clothes? It’s bad mindset and encourages crimes against women.”
Before Jaya, her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda had also expressed disappointment at the CM’s words. She shared a screengrab of one of his statements and said, “Wtf” before adding, “Change your mentality before changing our clothes 🙂 because the only thing shocking here is the message comments like this send to society. Just (angry emojis).”