“Women need to be smart, nobody is going to empower them,” said Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor while sharing her opinion on whether things will change for women in India in terms of safety and equality post elections.
“If we want change, we need to be the change. We should do something about it rather than just talking,” she said.
Polling in this year’s nine-phase general elections will begin on April 7 and will see 814 million people exercising their voting rights.
Kapoor feels there is no place for “dignity” in the battle of the ballot. “Who do we vote for? Who do we speak to? It’s become a circus. It’s obnoxious. The kind of fight that is happening in the political arena, I think it’s dirty ... there is no dignity left,” said the actress, who is the daughter of actor-filmmaker Anil Kapoor.
“I want to be optimistic about it [elections]. I think change will come but very slowly. I hate to be not diplomatic, but that’s what it is. That’s how our country is working right now.”
A staggering 100 million first-time voters would be casting their ballot in the April-May polls, whose results would be declared on May 16.
In the last few years, crime against women has been on the rise in India and voters are hoping that the new government will work towards making the country a safer place.
“Forget women, looking at the larger picture, if this is how they [politicians] are going to fight, it’s mud-slinging and it’s extremely immature. It is like high school election. It’s very silly,” said Kapoor, while adding that “if more and more people will vote, may be slowly and steadily there will be a change”.
Talking about the showbiz, she said that while she agrees the remuneration bar for actresses should be increased, she feels she is not the right person to talk about it. “Things for actresses have not changed. To be very honest, people are trying, everybody is trying and that’s the best thing.”
“I am not even trying to be modest about it. There are people who can do it. Those who are strong in this industry — successful girls such as Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Sonakshi Sinha — they can voice their opinion. I have a long way to go,” said Kapoor, 28, who is often tagged as the Bollywood’s style diva.
However, she pointed out that filmmaking is a business and remuneration is directly linked to box-office profits. “If we are not going to make that kind of money for them [filmmakers], they are not going to pay us that kind of money.”
When she was asked if the profit margin is shared with actors and actresses, Kapoor said: “You get the profit margin if you are the lead of the film and if the film is being sold on your name, then you do get it. It’s up to you and your lawyers, agents, etc. So you can be smart about it.”
