Deepika's Cleavage is As Important As SRK's Eight-Pack, Writes Shobhaa De
The latest controversy that has tickled the media no end involves a body part of a famous person. It is a slightly perplexing situation given the two main players involved in a Twitter war. In one corner, is a very annoyed actress whose cleavage has caused all the problem, in the other is the Times of India (full disclosure: I write for the group) that featured the said body part with a caption about 'Deepika's cleavage show.'
This 'lack of respect' has upset the lady sufficiently for her to hit back with a spirited and sharp riposte - "I am a woman, I have breasts and a cleavage. Do you have a problem?"
I thought it was a pretty feisty reaction from a woman who had the guts and confidence not to shy away from addressing the real issue here, which is not her cleavage.
Perhaps further incensed by the response from the Times of India team, which cheekily said it was meant as a compliment and she shouldn't take it any differently, Deepika snapped back raising what has now snow-balled into an ugly debate involving women's sensitivities, empowerment issues and dignity. Oh dear, oh dear!
Here are a few perspectives: should the TOI have apologised for carrying the image in the first place? Should Deepika have been more sporting and let it go? Will the media think twice before featuring cleavages of other attractive women (models, socialites, starlets and others) wearing risque; outfits in public? Was TOI crossing the line in this case? Has Deepika over-reacted?
Before we climb on to that moral high horse and start lecturing everybody about the rightness or wrongness of carrying pictures of female celebrities when they wear clothes that reveal more than they want to flash, let's get real.
In today's red carpet age, top stars across the world are pictured in garments that leave little to the imagination - Miley Cyrus wore nothing more modest than tantalising pasties to an event last week. Surely, a red carpet veteran like Padukone, who has been widely photographed in the most revealing haute couture (remember the stunning 'Vogue' cover shoot?), can't have turned coy overnight? Most of her contemporaries routinely appear at glam events dressed in skimpier outfits. What does any of this have to do with feminism? The cameras will leer and peer. That's what cameras do. Where and who draws the line? What is that line? Is reckless backless okay, even if it's cut all the way down to where the butt start? Are gowns with thigh high cuts that go all the way up to the crotch fine? What about slinky outfits with interestingly positioned cut-outs that make it clear no under garments are involved? But a cleavage offends? I don't get it.
How is Deepika's cleavage more provocative than Aamir Khan's... ummm...groin or SRK's eight pack? Umpteen publicity pictures have flashed SRK's sculpted body recently. In what way is that display more 'acceptable' when it comes to the objectification game? Why no gender neutrality here? In today's competitive times, most female actors are saying, "Have cleavage, will flaunt!" And we are not talking about Poonam Pandey alone. Our heroes hit the gym for a purpose - to show off their hard work in public! Nobody screams "exploitation" when that happens.
Deepika Padukone has a divine body. Fans have seen most of it by now. Her comfort level while displaying her toned self in movies like Cocktail and Goliyon Ki Raasleela - Ram Leela have earned her countless admirers, many of them young women who would love to possess her chutzpah and daring, when it comes to baring.
Too bad, this brush with a few vital inches has generated so much heat for and around Bollywood's biggest hottie. Now, wait a minute - hottie? That's a pretty sexist term! How come nobody has protested so far? Ranbir? Your turn next...
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