When Bollywood actresses take a stand

Itrsquos often said that Hindi films are maledominated while the actresses are more of an accessory This mindset betrays the womencentric films that are currently lining up Although the disparity in paychecks is still a sore point there are some noteworthy instances involving actresses who are not only willing to defy commercial interests but also make them clear on where they stand when it comes to an issue or a topic Esha Gupta and Vishakha Singh For what Just when the notion that young actresses canrsquot always afford to be righteous was gaining root these two turned down lucrative offers to appear in ads promoting a skin lightening product A rather brave decision for the dusky newbies who could have gone with their established peers and just signed the dotted lines Kangna Ranaut For what The debate on what racism means to an Indian shall always be a touchy and ambiguous topic However as far as cinema is concerned a personrsquos skin tone hasnrsquot always determined stardom But with excessive commercialisation in place Bollywood actors have lately started associating themselves with skin whitening products Much against this trend Kangs refused to endorse a fairness cream a move that might overlook big easy moolah but is certainly a step towards asking the right questions Sonakshi Sinha For what Thin is always in At least thatrsquos what they made you believe before Sona entered the scene The 26yearold in her relatively short career has managed to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the industry And all that without having to alter the way she works Often chided for being ldquoout of shaperdquo and ldquotoo curvyrdquo the actress has stuck to her guns so far In her retort she even went on record stating shersquos healthy and wonrsquot succumb to crash diets Also no swimsuits and steamy scenes for her Nandita Das For what A thinking manrsquos sex symbol this actordirector clearly goes by her instincts She made a film like Firaaq 2008 when Bollywood at large was happy pretending that nothing wrong happened in Gujarat postGodhra Known for vocally stating her stand on topics that often go unnoticed by the media Nandita recently launched an online movement against fairness products Being dusky herself her arguments on how things could be staked against you just because of your skin colour are strong Deepika Padukone For what In the past few years performing in an item song gradually moved from item girlsrsquo domain to lead actressesrsquo As a result everyone from Katrina Kaif to Kareena Kapoor to Vidya Balan to Priyanka Chopra to Bipasha Basu has moved their hips to similar tracks with frivolous lyrics Interestingly Dippy refused an offer to do the same by Subhash Ghai for his next Kaanchi However two years ago the Bangalorean beauty was part of an item song in Dum Maro Dum which was considered ldquoway too boldrdquo Blast from the past gtgtA couple of months ago when Mallika Sherawat was claiming to be the first actress from India to smooch on screen she was actually taking the credit away from Devika Rani In fact the yesteryear star is accredited for having acted in one of the longest kissing scenes in the history of cinema with her husband Himanshu Rai in Karma And this was in the year 1933 No wonder her move was considered ldquoextremely controversialrdquo then gtgt Postindependence Lata Mangeshkar became the first female playback singer to ask for a cut from profits made on a song She stirred up a hornetrsquos nest by demanding halfshare from the five percent song royalty that the film39s producer granted to select composers With the era being 1960s her view was seen as unorthodox and ldquovery overeachingrdquo But given the haphazard state of affairs today visagravevis music labels the legendary singerrsquos actions seem quite forwardlooking and courageous A league of their own Some Bollywood actresses who have been part of campaigns promoting fair skin Katrina Kaif Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Priyanka Chopra Sonam Kapoor Soha Ali Khan Genelia DrsquoSouza Asin Esha Deol Raveena Tandon Sonali Bendre Yaami Gautam and Dia Mirzau00a0