Mumbai: Actress Sonam Kapoor has started #WomenInFilm series on her Instagram handle to highlight the contributions of actresses in the film industry.
While talking about the existing sexism in Bollywood, Sonam said that women need to take a stand for themselves and change the way they are portrayed in films.
She went on to say that women need to make better choices and should be bold enough to turn down films that are sexist.
“There still exists this idea of working with the ‘big hero’ to succeed. And female actors need to be a certain way, dress a certain way, and talk in a certain way to ‘fit in’. You still have your teams reminding you to ‘fit the mould’. I’m fortunate that my team isn’t like that, but it happens all the time!” Sonam told Cosmopolitan India.
“Look at the way song lyrics or scripts are written about women… that needs to change. The way women are portrayed and talked about in the industry is not okay, and as women, we should not agree to work in those films because we are just harming ourselves. There is no price too high, especially considering all that has happened over this year… Each one of us needs to make better choices, or we will be subjected to a witch-hunt and we will be burnt at the stake!” she added.
Earlier at the Hindustan Times Youth Forum held in Chandigarh, Sonam had said that she turns down film offers in which heroines are paid less than the heroes.
“I refuse to work with film producers who pay female actors less than males. I was told, ‘You can afford to do so as you have a safety net. You come from a rich family.’ I have been fending for myself since I was 18. It is hard for me also to say no to money but as someone who feels it is not morally right to get less paid than male stars, I don’t work for such producers,” she said.
Sonam was last seen in ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’ and ‘The Zoya Factor.’
