There's movement but it's nominal: PC on gender equality

Agencies
December 26, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 26: Feminism may have emerged as Merriam-Webster's word of the year with women becoming more vocal about issues such as sexual harassment, but Priyanka Chopra believes most people still don't understand what feminism actually is.

There is more talk and less action in the area of gender equality believes the 35-year-old star, who is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

The overuse of the words "feminism and empowerment" has belittled their essence, she said.

"There is movement but it is very nominal. We need to work so much more. In our country and across the globe, girls are treated as secondary citizens. They face violence and abuse everywhere. And feminism is a way to control that situation, but it has become a negative term," Priyanka told PTI in an interview.

For the actor, who has successfully crossed over to the American showbiz world with the television show "Quantico" and made her Hollywood debut with "Baywatch", feminism is "not about superiority but equality".

"I believe a lot of people still don't understand the actual meaning of feminism. Feminism and empowerment are two words which people overuse, without even understanding the meaning properly."

Feminism for her, Priyanka stressed, is about women getting the opportunities that men have always enjoyed.

The fact that women are still "judged" for being ambitious bothers her, said the actor, who has created her own space in the Indian and the international entertainment industry.

Empowerment, she added, is about giving people the freedom to take stands for themselves. But at times girls are deprived of this freedom.

"People are conditioned in a way that for them the only job a woman has is to give birth to babies or take care of the home. I am not denying that this is what makes women so special. We have this power to give life.

"But we are still judged for being ambitious. This kind of conditioning also stops girls from dreaming big. This is a disheartening situation," she said.

It will take years for society to treat women as equal to men, but the shift in the mindset of the younger generation fills her with hope, she said.

"There is a long way to go, but we have also come a really long way. But now the difference I see is how empowered young India is. They don't keep quiet any more. They would stand up against injustice. It is so empowering to see.

"India is one of the youngest nations in the world and the younger generation is so strong. It is really nice to see them at the forefront and raising their voice for equality," she said.

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News Network
April 3,2020

Washington, April 3: American actor Kristen discussed her experience being isolated with husband and their two kiddos.

According to Fox News, the 39-year-old actor discussed how she and Shepard are finding quarantine to be a little tough in a video chat to Entertainment Tonight.

Bell admitted: "We've gotten on each other's last nerve these last couple days. We're doing much better now because were laughing about it. But when we were not laughing about it for the first couple of days, that's the hard spot."

The 'Bad Mom' actor then shared her thoughts on why quarantining with loved ones can be so tough. She explained that she loves spending time with her husband and he loves spending time with her.

But what she thinks is different about this quarantine time is you have so much more time to think about the other persona and their actions and sort of replay what they said or attach a meaning to something that they did.
Bell added: "Nobody really needs time for that. That's useless."

The 'Frozen' actor also discussed having to make adjustments in regards to her kids, 7-year-old Lincoln, and 5-year-old Delta, and the schedule she tried to keep once the quarantine began.

She said that the biggest lesson she learnt, in the beginning, was that she wrote out the colour coded schedule, and noted about when will be their academic and academic time.

Kristen explained that by day five of schedule, she was making everybody miserable. About a week ago, she woke her kids up and encouraged her daughters to rip up the schedule, explaining that the kids "felt so good."

"I said the learning lesson here is that if you make a plan and it's not working, you pivot," said Bell.

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News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: Hoping her cinematic voice can help bring about lasting change in how society perceives acid attack survivors, actor Deepika Padukone says her latest film Chhapaak should ideally be so impactful that there won't be need for another story on acid violence.

After all, cinema is in itself such a powerful medium, Deepika told news agency ahead of the release of the film, which is based on the life of acid attack survivor and activist Laxmi Agarwal.

The idea behind the social drama is to invoke empathy and understanding rather than paint women who have undergone the ordeal as victims, the actor, who has also produced the film, said in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

"Beyond the gruesomeness, the violence and all of that, there is a story of the human spirit and hope. That's why we're telling the story," she said.

Deepika, 33, said it was a story that spoke to her and she felt pride in attaching herself to the project.

Chhapaak, directed by Meghna Gulzar and featuring Vikrant Massey, is the second mainstream film to focus on the subject after 2019 Malayalam movie Uyare starring Parvathy Thiruvothu.

"I hope we won't have to constantly tell stories on acid attack survivors for us to see change. I hope with our film we begin to see that change for ourselves as a society and for acid attack survivors.

"If we don't, then we've done something wrong as a society. Cinema in itself is such a powerful medium that hopefully just through this one film we will hopefully be able to see that kind of change and impact," Deepika said.

The actor said there was not much planning behind the decision to back the film financially.

"Sometimes certain films need a little more hand holding, a little more love and support. I felt like I would be adding a little more value as a producer.

"This is a film I'm very proud of, not just from the script point of view but even in terms of the story and its message," she said.

The film, which releases on January 10, will be Deepika's first release in two years and comes after her marriage to frequent co-star Ranveer Singh.

The actor said she used the time to creatively replenish herself.

"It was about finding a film worthy of putting out there. It's not that work at my end had stopped. I was constantly looking for scripts that challenged and excited me.

"I would look at it as time for creative fertility. It's important to nurture yourself. The work that goes on behind the scenes... most often we're constantly on a film set, but whether it's meeting with writers and directors, looking for scripts... That is also part of the creative process and that's what I've been doing."

The title Chhapaak instantly evokes the image of acid being splattered, and Deepika said the director wanted a word for the film's name that could also lend itself to a song.

"I think she said 'chhapaak', which is the sound of a splash, is something that could adapt or lend itself beautifully to a song. Perhaps, it also has to do with fluidity. So on one hand, liquid is known to take different forms, a liquid such as this (acid) can change someone's life forever," she said.

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News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: By posting a stunning picture of herself, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan on Friday motivated people to stay strong during the tough times that the country is facing amid the coronavirus crisis.
The actor took to Instagram and posted a high-on-style picture of herself clicked from behind.
In the picture, the 'Jab We Met' actor is seen standing in front of make-up mirrors that had lights adding on to the shine of the picture.
"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within... Stay strong. We can and we will," she captioned the picture in which she is seen wearing a blue bodycon dress having puffy sleeves.
The glamourous picture received scores of comments from the celebrated actor's fans.
With the entertainment industry under shutdown, many celebrities are self-isolating them to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus rose to 724 on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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