Mallika’s Cannes rant sparks debate

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“India is regressive for women,” that is what actor Mallika Sherawat had to say during an interview to Steve Gaydos at The Variety Studio at the 66th Cannes Film Festival recently. Sherawat said that she divides her time between India and the US because she finds India to be a very “depressing” place.
She maintained that she made a conscious decision to shuttle between Los Angeles and India because the kind of social freedom she enjoys in America can’t be experienced in India which is very regressive for women, and that is quite depressing for her.
Her statements instantly became a topic of discussion on the social networking sites and she was condemned for painting a wrong picture of the country and Indian cinema.
“It’s sad that she’s running down the country and that too by saying things that are not true. Yes, women face problems in this country, but it’s surely not as bad as she makes it sound,” says theatre person and founder of the short film club Shamiana, Cyrus F Dastur.
“I guess she only started seeing films after she did her first film,” he remarks pointing at a part of the interview where Sherawat says that she was the “first woman to wear a bikini in a film and kiss on screen”.
Adman Prahlad Kakar doesn’t want to take Sherawat’s comment seriously and advises others to do the same too. He thinks it to be a deliberate effort to grab eyeballs and represent oneself as different from the crowd. “She is trying to portray herself as bold and beautiful. Her assertion will make people think that there’s this chick who is confident to come out with the truth while everybody else is lying,” says Kakar, who feels it was not right of her to use an international platform like a film fest to do that.
However, for some, such debates are important, but one should consider the time, place and relevance of the statement being made. “The debate on the state of women in India should happen in the country and not at a film festival,” says actor-politician Vani Tripathi, who thinks that before making a statement that’s so serious, one should work on their image as well. “At least make yourself relevant for the topic you are speaking for,” she says.
Actor Tannishtha Chatterjee, who too divides her time between India and the US agrees with Vani and says “It’s indeed difficult for women in India but Mallika chose a wrong platform to voice her opinion.”
She adds that the gender issue is a big problem even in the West but they have better ways to deal with it and it’s time we started that too.
While filmmaker Tanuja Chandra acknowledges that women have had it tough in India for very long now, she is equally surprised at the vacuous, general and unserious comment made by Mallika just to appear aware and contemporary.
“It doesn’t really help her cause or the country. An informed celebrity could indeed bring some attention to grave issues, but on the other hand, fluffy interviews like this don’t create a big impression,” she concludes.