The internet has been taken over by a storm ever since Deepika Padukone spilled out blatant truths about her personal life in the first episode of this year’s Koffee with Karan. Here are a few insights of mine regarding this issue.
Despite widespread advocacy for feminist movements and the formulation of new policies to promote women’s rights in India, it is disheartening to observe that, even in the post-21st century or Gen Z era, many women around me exhibit more patriarchal attitudes than men. This trend contributes to the reinforcement of stereotypical patriarchal norms that continue to prevail in society. Considering this issue of Deepika Padukone, I have seen many women around me slut shaming her and thoroughly enjoying, encouraging the mockery that is made out of her.
The kind of women I am particularly taking about are those who are jealous of the freedom enjoyed by Deepika because they themselves can’t exercise that level of freedom so instead of fighting for their own freedom which they should, they try to look down upon women who has more opportunities to live life on her own terms. They find a kind of sadistic solace in defaming others. As a woman myself I feel if women of the country don’t unite then it’s technically impossible to uproot the seeds of patriarchy which has been ingrained inside us since birth for eons now.
Politics of Social Media and People’s Quest for Limelight
Furthermore, in matters related to such issues, social media appears to function more as a curse than a blessing. People are misusing their liberty, freedom of speech to sabotage someone’s mental health. Delving deeper into this controversy, a significant underlying issue seems to be the prevalent inferiority complex that drives people to eagerly pass judgment on Deepika and Ranveer’s personal choices.
Deepika is a woman who is currently on the zenith of success and so is Ranveer. Whereas commoners like us grappling with everyday challenges in our pursuit of success, may find a momentary sense of virtual validation through the act of passing judgment on celebrities. The likes, shares, or comments garnered in response can create the illusion that we too hold significance and play an important role in society.
I am quite sure of the fact most people who haven’t even watched this particular episode of Koffee with Karan and have almost zero idea on what basis she shared this experience of her life and what other aspects she talked about in the rest of the episode, didn’t even hesitate to compose paragraphs on their social media handles trying to condemn and condescend on her life choices. It’s this desire to be in limelight, to be in power, to feel validated that most people are engaging in such a trivial issue when the whole world is plagued and burning with other issues that no one is interested to talk or write about.
I feel pity for those people who are so much invested in this whole issue, they are the victims of the politics of social media more than Deepika, where media very cleverly strategizes to keep an issue on forefront which draws people’s attention thus keeping them glued to their social media handles, and hence making it an inherent part of people’s lives without which people won’t sustain. This definitely should be a matter of concern and is something which is leading our populace towards grave danger where one’s activities in social media serves as the foundation of one’s identity, making them mere pawns in the hands of this virtual world and thus eroding one’s clear stream of consciousness.
Minding One’s Own Business
Deepika Padukone is a personality of such a stature that these things might not affect her anymore but then maybe it’s disheartening and disturbing for her, that as an artist people are more inclined towards her personal life than her art which she does for the sake of entertaining people. People should stop considering celebrities as ideal beings since they are human just like us and possess equal desires to do the same things we do.
We all go through trials of several dresses whenever we go to buy a dress and for Deepika it was one of the most important decisions of her life so she definitely did the right thing, to take her own time in choosing the right person to be her life partner. Dramatically sympathizing with Ranveer and making him look like a victim or sufferer is such a foolish thing to do when he is himself not bothered by it all and wholeheartedly loves Deepika for the way she is. I mean it’s high time we start focusing on ourselves, take a pause and do some introspection on our lives and contemplate where we all are standing, rather than intruding in other people’s lives. I hope then we can progess a little bit and so can humanity.