Anushka Sharma is quite a game changer, an ‘outsider’ who made her big Bollywood debut with Yash Raj Films’ Rab ne bana di jodi opposite Shah Rukh Khan and produced her first thriller NH10 at the age of 25.
From ageism to wage gap, Anushka has spoken about the deeply ingrained sexism in the industry time and again. Apart from her innings in Bollywood, the actor has also been very candid about her personal life.
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Here are 12 times we absolutely loved Ms. Sharma.
1. When she spoke about the kind of roles that are written for women in Bollywood
“Girls are expected to be good looking, look nice and be interesting enough for guys to fall in love with in a film. Women only come together in a film if there’s a boy involved, like if there’s a love triangle.”Anushka Sharma
2. When she revealed that actresses have a shelf life, actors don’t
“Men can age, but they can still work, they can still be heroes... and they’re still amazing and cool. And I’m fine with that. But women have to be young because they have to be desirable. And we’re looking at women like that in films, because we have only shown mostly that to people, barring a few films that have happened. I’m not just talking about just objectification — tits and ass — but just what you’re bringing to the film. Like other than your beauty and your nakhra, is there anything else you’re bringing to the film?”Anushka Sharma
3. When she addressed the pay gap issue in the industry
“A male newcomer and female newcomer will get paid different money (sic) You’re a newcomer... no one knows who you are, man or woman doesn’t matter. It’s just assumed that men need more money. I think people think that men need to run a family and women are looked after. I’m not saying this out of greed — I’m just saying value me. At the end of the day, you want respect. And when you pay me less money, you’re telling me I’m not as valuable.”Anushka Sharma
4. And gender bias, in general
“You feel that discrimination. Not just with money, but in general. Even if you’re at an outdoor schedule, you KNOW the guy is going to get a better room than you. And you’re like, why does that need to happen? I’m sure every hotel has at least two really good rooms. You see it all the time.”Anushka Sharma
5. When she told us how much exactly Bollywood loves its heroines
“If you’re asking for something you deserve, you’re a bitch! Isko kitna attitude hai. We’re not dumb, we have come so far in our life, not by being stupid, then they are obviously not unreasonable. So if we are making a suggestion or asking for something, we are making a request, we are called difficult. ”Anushka Sharma
6. People don’t like women with guts. Period!
“People don’t like women with guts in this industry.”Anushka Sharma
7. When she reminded us that we need to be the change we want to see
“I had to take a hard decision and say NO I’m not going to take up just any role. If some good roles aren’t coming my way, I’ll sit at home. I didn’t have a release for 2 years. You’ll have to take that risk. The change will happen because of the decisions that actresses are taking.”Anushka Sharma
8. She doesn’t care what others think
“If I believe in something, I’ll back myself. I don’t ask anybody anything. Nobody! If I feel confident about something, I go for it.”Anushka Sharma
9. When she spoke about her relationship with Virat Kohli and revealed why she doesn’t like talking about it
“When I spoke about my life, I did because that’s who I am as a person. I’m very open because I have nothing to hide. But, I realised that people don’t have the maturity to deal with an actor being open about their personal life. I’m still going to lead my life exactly how I want to but yes, speaking about it is not going to happen.”Anushka Sharma
10. Yes, she is a lot more than just Virat Kohli’s wife
“Even if I’m having a conversation with you for 1700 hours, at the end of it, the headline is going to be something about my relationship.”Anushka Sharma
11. If you’ve ever blamed Anushka for Virat’s poor performance on field, she has a message for you
“I will do whatever I want to do. I will go out, I will go watch a match. I won’t let my relationship be a piece of entertainment for people, why should I disrespect my relationship?”Anushka Sharma
12. And a message for the trolls too
“I’m not liable to anybody. There are a lot of chauvinistic men on Twitter and they can’t accept that a woman is successful, famous and rich so they just decide to be mean.”Anushka Sharma
More power to you, Anushka.
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