Scrolling down through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across a link to an article published by Daily.in (styled as “Open to an opinion”). The said article was shared by the Facebook page of a leading daily; India Today. The article of which I speak about here is titled – Why Aishwarya Rai needs a bravery award for acting in Sarbjit – and its subtitle read: “When the world’s most beautiful woman tries to fight against her own blessed beauty, it takes a lot of courage.”
Now, to any person who requires logic in daily life, this article and the accompanying caption would sound absurd. The caption reads: “Can you see someone born to walk the Cannes red carpet in Salvatore Ferragomo heels, pick up a broken bathroom slipper and try fixing it?” It’s like patting the back of a police officer, who happens to be ‘beautiful’ as per society standards, for doing her job; because if you are ‘beautiful’ you aren’t even expected to do a job that you are paid for! And God forbid, if you are as beautiful as Aishwarya Rai, then you really are doing a favor upon the universe by doing your job.
Aishwarya is an “actor” performing the role of a woman who is struggling to get her brother released. There is a camera rolling in front of which she has to act and she is doing that. Walking at Cannes is something that is part of her own persona. Dalbir Kaur wouldn’t do that eh?
A 4-minute read, this article depicts the difficulties which Aishwarya bravely and vehemently faces. “Can you see her eat a dry roti, sabzi out of a shabby plate in a jail?” Sure, they should’ve shown Sarabjit held at a five-star hotel cum jail in Pakistan which would suit his dear, dear sister coming all the way from Punjab to see him, who happens to be Miss World in the real world. It does not matter what her role is about, she is not supposed to dress in such ordinary clothes or wear slippers. No sir. At least that is what the writer believes.
The said article does in some way try to appreciate the work of the actress, but it’s really not enough. In my opinion, it belittles her by pointing out that in spite of being so beautiful, she has done all this. The author completely ignored the fact that because she is an actress, she has done all this for her role. That defines her dedication which is not jeopardized by beauty.
That reminds me of the newly elected Member of Legislative Assembly Angoorlata Deka from Assam, who is popularized not for being elected as an MLA but because she is beautiful and surprisingly now an MLA. She is not just about her beautiful face, she is more than that. Could we not give such people credits for the work they do rather than just their beautiful faces? Can we not bring ourselves out of our own notion of beauty superseding every talent?
As for Aishwarya Rai, she has proven time and again that she is not only beautiful but a very talented actress and a successful star too. The least we can do is to appreciate her for her achievements rather than criticizing her for the way she dresses up while playing an ordinary woman. The article proclaims her as a miscast and that for portraying her role in the movie ‘Sarbjit’ should be awarded a bravery medal. And Hanumanthappa should be given a Filmfare for his ably rendering his duty at Siachen. Amaze.
So conclusively, this article about an article is just a reader response, could be right could be wrong but I guess I surely don’t foist perspectives of the writer on the readers.
