Voicing unpopular opinions or honest views are never easy. But, here we have compiled some interviews of women celebrities, who didn’t shy away from voicing their opinions and stood for what they believed!
1. When Tabu spoke about pay disparity in Bollywood. She opened up how women are often paid much less than the male actors despite putting in more effort. While at ‘Rendezvous with Simi Garewal’ show, she mentioned:
“The heroine doesn’t feel cold, the heroine doesn’t feel hot, the heroine doesn’t mind the rain. All the pain the heroine has to take, and get less money than the hero.”
2. When Ratna Pathak spoke about the mediocre writing in Bollywood. She called out the sad state of script writing in Bollywood. While talking to Anupama Chopra, she said:
“They can barely write a good part for poor Deepika Padukone, so how are they going to write a good part for me?”
3. When Rekha opened up about Amitabh Bachchan’s denial about their affair. In a throwback interview with Filmfare, she said:
“Why should he have not done it? He did it to protect his image, to protect his family, to protect his children. I think it is beautiful, I don’t care what the public thinks of it. Why should the public know of my love for him or his love for me? I love him, he loves me – that’s it! I don’t care what anybody thinks.”
4. Talking about Bollywood’s limited definition of women-centric films, Dimple Kapadia said:
“Well, they’ve just decided that a woman oriented script means that there has to be a rape and she has to take revenge. I mean that’s it. If anyone comes and tells me that we’ve got a female oriented script, I know at once what he’s talking about.”
5. When Aishwarya Rai openly spoke about how Bollywood works.
During Rendezvous with Simi Garewal show, she was asked about the thing that bugs her most about film industry. To which she said: “It would probably be a more general statement when I say crab mentality. It’s about all the crabs in the basket…And, there’s one who’s climbing out, taking all the trouble, making the effort. And, instead of encouraging and helping you just go and pull that one down…And, say, “Stay with us, crawl with us but you’re not going nowhere.” This is sad attitude to have!”
6. On being body shamed, Konkona Sen Sharma gave back a confident reply!
During a TOI interview, Konkana Sen Sharma was asked this incredibly ridiculous question, ‘You’re not good looking in the conventional Bengali way like your mother is. How has that affected you’? To this she responded: “My mother is gorgeous and I consider myself to be her biggest fan. I don’t compare myself to her in terms of looks or career and we don’t have to follow the same trajectory. She is a part of me. Also, I am a fairly confident person and I find myself quite good looking.”
7. When Madhuri Dixit opened up about her decision to not do any kiss scenes after Dayavan.
On being asked if she regretted doing a kissing scene in Dayavan, Madhuri Dixit said: “When I look back, I think I should have just said, ‘No, I don’t want to do it.’ I didn’t know anything about the industry and its operative norms. I didn’t know at that time that you could say no to do kissing scenes. So I did it. But later when I saw the film, I wondered why did I do it? The kiss didn’t add anything to the film. So I decided to put my foot down on doing any more kissing scenes and never did another again.”
8. When Sharmila Tagore opened up about the issue of female actors being sidelined after a certain age.
On being asked why she doesn’t appear in movies these days, Sharmila Tagore said: “It happens to all actresses beyond a certain age in our cinema… Whereas the rules are different for Mr. Bachchan. He has directors like Shoojit Sircar calling him ‘Sir’ and writing roles for him. I mean, Mr. Bachchan is definitely an icon. But the rules are different for the actresses. I believe Ribhu Dasgupta’s film Te3n was a remake of a Korean film. The original female protagonist has been turned into a male to accommodate Mr. Bachchan.”
9. When Urmila Matondkar opened up about her honest views on motherhood.
Speaking about motherhood, Urmila Matondkar mentioned: “It’s not necessary for every woman to be a mother. Motherhood should happen for the right reason. I love children. But there are so many children out there who need our love and care. It’s not necessary that they be born from you.”
We are in awe of these fierce women who didn’t shy away from speaking their mind!