Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who was the Telugu film industry’s sweetheart until her recent divorce with former husband and actor Naga Chaitanya, is the target of hate again for simply living her life.
From various speculations that the marriage ended because Samantha’s song “Oo antava” in the pan-Indian blockbuster movie “Pushpa” didn’t go down too well with the Akkineni family, to her non-interest in becoming a mother, abortion rumours and more, people are quick to blame her for the divorce based on unverified reasons.
Why Single Out Only Women?
The recent reasons for the online abuse directed at Samantha are her association with the alcohol brand “Blenders Pride” and her dress at the recent film critics award show.
You can call it playing the “woman card“, but the fact is people tend to be starkly judgemental of women only because they view them as soft targets and think they can get away with abusing them.
I don’t remember fans abusing a male actor online for endorsing an alcohol brand ever. In fact, they idolised male actors like Shatrughan Sinha for their alcohol advertisements.
Why The Criticism Is Hypocritical And Unfair
It’s amusing that people are finding fault with Samantha for endorsing an alcohol brand. Because, even during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, people were queuing up in the wee hours of the morning to stock up on alcohol.
India is one of the fastest growing markets for alcoholic beverages worldwide due to rapid urbanisation, a growing middle class population with increased spending power, and a relatively stable economy.
There is an increasing number of women who are consuming alcohol, but there is a stigma attached to this, as opposed to male drinkers. Global celebrities have endorsed alcohol brands. One must note that the female brand ambassadors have not faced selective outrage and flak for it.
It’s true that alcohol is a double-edged sword and there are dangerous implications with respect to its consumption. However, instead of moral policing women for drinking alcohol, the focus should be on raising awareness about responsible alcohol consumption and behaviour (such as no drinking and driving), apart from regulation.
Also, it’s unfair how people pigeonhole a woman’s worth to her marriage and motherhood alone. Everything else is immaterial, especially a woman’s achievements.
Maybe, that’s just it… Even in Samantha’s case! Sheer rage and envy at a woman’s audacity to pave her own path, and follow her ambitions at the cost of family and motherhood. So, let’s just tear her down and mock all that she does.
Why Do We Conveniently Forget The Good Deeds
Before judging someone else’s life from our myopic lens, let’s pause and look at the other side of the coin as well. Samantha has a charitable side to her. She’s known for routinely donating to various social causes.
For instance, Samantha co-founded the Pratyusha Support, a charitable trust along with Padma Shri awardee Dr Manjula Anagani, India’s leading laparoscopic surgeon, obstetrician, gynecologist and infertility specialist, in 2014.
The team at the trust has been serving the underprivileged sections, especially the most vulnerable populations of women and children suffering from life-threatening medical conditions. They have also been sheltering the poor.
Moreover, they have been organising free medical awareness camps, check-ups, vaccination drives, blood donation camps, and surgeries.
A dog mommy to Hash and Saasha, Samantha turned to a plant-based diet during the pandemic. She advocates for plant-based foods, veganism and urban, home-farming that propagates “putting food on the table.” She is an investor and the chief nillennial farmer of UrbanKisaan.
While it’s easy to judge someone’s life from afar without knowing them personally, maybe it would be better if we could use that time to do something constructive for our society instead.