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Sunny Leone's new biopic, Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story of Sunny Leone, is out, and as expected, people have problems with it.
Sunny Leone’s new biopic, Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story of Sunny Leone, is out, and as expected, people have problems with it.
When I was a young girl, I’d be angry to see that different sets of rules applied to my brother and myself. While he was allowed to stay outside for as long as he wanted, making friends with whomsoever he wished, wearing or doing whatever he desired without my mother or anyone else questioning him, the same rules didn’t apply to me.
I felt it was unfair but my mother used to tell me that the stricter rules were for my own good. I knew this was unfair and that things needed to change. However, when I look at my country today, I realize to my utter disappointment that the double standards between how our society treats its men versus the way its treats its women is still quite intact.
The recent controversy regarding Sunny Leone’s biopic brought this realization to my mind yet one more time. On July 16th, a biopic on Sunny Leone titled Karenjit Kaur: The Untold Story of Sunny Leone was released. The series starring Sunny Leone narrates the Leone’s story of how she became a pornstar from the girl next door and then further, how she became a Bollywood star.
As expected, the biopic has been on the receiving end of massive trolling on social media. Because, you see, how dare a woman makes her choices and stand by those without any apology? Not only has Leone been upright and honest about her professions, she’s never shown remorse for any decisions she made in her life. Now that definitely cannot be expected of a Sanskaari woman by Indian standards, no?
To add on to this, we have religious leaders joining in the foray. According to reports, The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has objected to the usage of ‘Kaur’ in the title of the movie. DSGMC’s general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa is reported to have said that Kaur couldn’t be used for “the sake of cheap publicity”. He further wrote a letter to Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra, asking him to withdraw ‘Kaur’ from the title.
Some questions that I feel like asking these people:
Are we concerned about ideals such as honour, respect etc solely when it comes to women?
When a criminal like Sanjay Dutt is shown in a positive light in a biopic titled Sanju where the actor brags about sleeping with over 300 women, how is that acceptable to our audiences? Just because Sanjay Dutt is a man?
Also, if using the title Kaur is so offensive to some Sikh leaders, how come they are okay with Honey Singh using Singh in his title and still promoting misogynistic ideas including rape in his songs?
Yo Yo Honey Singh can promote rape in his songs and still keep 'Singh' title but Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee says Sunny Leone biopic can't refer to 'Kaur' title because, you know, porn, chhi chhi! https://t.co/s6T7yVSm6s — Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) July 16, 2018
Yo Yo Honey Singh can promote rape in his songs and still keep 'Singh' title but Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee says Sunny Leone biopic can't refer to 'Kaur' title because, you know, porn, chhi chhi! https://t.co/s6T7yVSm6s
— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) July 16, 2018
Karenjit Kaur is her actual name and she can use it wherever she feels like. Why should anyone decides how she uses her name? And if such a strange rule applies regarding an individual’s usage of their own name, may I ask why it is only applicable to women?
A nation progresses when the thoughts and view of its citizens progress. As long as we try to hold on to our patriarchal values where women are unnecessarily stigmatized for things for which men aren’t even questioned, I don’t think we can be hopeful of building a more fair and just society for our future generations.
Image via the biopic
Kasturi’s debut novel, forthcoming in early 2021, had won the novel pitch competition by Half Baked Beans Publishers. She won the Runner Up Position in the Orange Flower Awards 2021 for Short Fiction. Her read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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