Why Didn’t You Praise Uorfi’s Innovative Creativity, Mr. Bhagat?

Why was Uorfi Javed's name brought up, if Chetan Bhagat was not going to praise her creativity — she is a successful content creator and thinker who earns her own money, we need to appreciate her hard work! 

In the world of controversies, we see Chetan Bhagat has marked his attendance few weeks back. Yet again, this time in a feud with the Reality TV star and Instagram influencer Uorfi Javed, formerly known as Urfi Javed.

Javed is known for her creative and fun dress designs, often made with household and off beat items like stones, mosquito coils and more! Javed has been gaining popularity steadily on various social media since her OTT debut.

The GenZ celebrity currently has 3.9 million followers and doesn’t shy away from calling out people when they misuse her name.

Where it all began with Mr. Bhagat

According to reports by multiple media houses, Mr. Bhagat was invited as a guest speaker at an event called Sahitya Aaj tak on 19th November 2022. In his speech, he went on to discuss how today’s generation are wasting their time on social media.

He went a step further, rather an unnecessary one, to cite Uorfi Javed’s sense of dressing as a distraction.

As a woman, especially as a GenZ who has grown up watching countless instances of controversies where one word let two and resulted in full-blown scandals on Tele, I wished that he stopped there.

We are tired of people commenting about young women being a distraction to the youth, youth being young Indian men and not young Indian women!

But the cheer from the audience in the lit-fest Mr. Bhagat was attendeing,  probably encouraged him to continue. He went on to say, “Everyone knows who Uorfi Javed is. What will you do with her photos? Is it coming in your exams, or you will go for a job interview and tell the interviewer that you know all her outfits?”

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And on “On one side, there is youth who is protecting our nation at Kargil and on another side, we have another youth who is seeing Uorfi Javed’s photos in their blankets.”

Rather ironic coming from an author whose books are allegedly the ones that youths read under their covers, or have vivid details of what goes on under the covers.

Javed claps back at Mr. Bhagat

The 25-year-old celebrity who rose to fame after participating in a reality TV Show believes that if you don’t stand up for yourself, no one else will! She took to her Instagram account to call out Chetan Bhagat.

As mentioned in this Times Now News report, she pointed out that it is regressive to blame the dressing choice of people for causing distractions, which in turn, promotes rape culture.  She also asked why was her name brought up:

“What was the need to bring up my name at a literature festival? I’m not an author.” 

Indeed, why was her name brought up, if Chetan Bhagat was not going to praise her creativity— she is a successful content creator and thinker who earns her own money, we need to appreciate her hard work!

Offence is the best defence; hence, Javed went all out to dig up the screenshots of Whatsapp chat conversations that had accused him of sexual harassment during the peak of India’s MeToo movement.

Uorfi questioned the hypocrisy of the situation, wherein men are free to pass lurid comments, all the while blaming the opposite gender for it.

Her professional competitor, Chahat Khanna, unfortunately, took Chetan Bhagat’s side and supported his distasteful comments. Exhibiting sadly another instance of a woman pulling down another.

The author has some clarifications

Taking to his Twitter account, Chetan Bhagat slammed a leading media portal that criticized his comments.

“I told guys to focus on fitness and their career and not waste their time on Instagram. Apparently, that’s not okay! So they cut my statement, say it out of context, the headline with adding things I never said, and do a clickbait piece with ageism thrown in too. Of course.”

Reacting to Javed’s allegations, two days later, he tweeted for the second time.

“Have never spoken to/chatted with/met/ known someone where it’s being spread that I have done so. It’s fake. a lie. Also a Non issue. Haven’t criticized anyone. And I also think there’s nothing wrong in telling people to stop wasting time on Instagram and focus on fitness and career.”

No, sir, it is absolutely not wrong to urge people to focus more on fitness and career. But it is offending to drag a woman and her personal choices, and sexualize her in order to prove your point.

No matter what her profession and what her attire choices, she deserves respect and dignity as a human being first.

How does it matter?

It matters, because such a mentality largely emerges from the idea of victim-blaming. While there is a world-wide loud cry to educate the sons better, this remark from a well-established and reputed author read by thousands comes as a confirmation to the biases.

It underlines the idea that it is “never men’s fault, but they have been lured by women”, that men will be men.

In multiple interviews, Javed has explained her awareness of the comments that are passed on her on a daily basis. She comes across as a woman who is extremely comfortable in her own skin, and doesn’t sexualize her body. She rather tries to capitalize on it. Fashion should be a personal choice. At the cost of sounding repetitive, let it be a personal choice.

It is a democracy. You’re entitled to your own opinion. You can disagree with everyone else’s choice, thoughts, or opinions.

But it crosses all boundaries of personal liberty once you try to bring someone else down on the basis of personal biases. Remember what Thumper, the rabbit from Bambi, said?

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say nothing at all.”

Image source: Uorfi Javed’s Twitter and Screengrab from Aaj Tak’s Youtube channel, edited on CanvaPro

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About the Author

Akankha Basu Roy

The author is a Gen-Z kid who resorts to writing to vent out about the problematic ways of the world. Having majored in Theatre, English, and Psychology, I take a guilty pleasure in complex read more...

52 Posts | 36,641 Views

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