Top News

Bollywood’s dimpled girl and global icon Deepika Padukone had made a big demand some time ago regarding working hours in the film industry. Deepika had advocated ‘8 hour shift’ on the set after marriage and child, after which a new debate broke out in the entire entertainment industry. While many big artists openly supported this demand of Deepika, now Bollywood actress and singer Saba Azad has also expressed her opinion openly on this issue. Saba not only supported Deepika, but also raised many sharp questions regarding the status of women in society and industry. Why are there so many expectations from women immediately after becoming mothers? Saba’s big question: Recently, during a conversation in a popular podcast, Saba Azad wondered why any woman is expected to work like crazy immediately after having a child? He also attacked the huge pay disparity in the film industry. Saba said, "There have definitely been some changes in today’s times, but the journey towards real equality is still very long. Even in the most progressive and educated homes of the country, women may go out and work, but after returning home, the responsibility of the entire family, taking care of everyone and feeding them still falls only on them."

‘Exemption to boys and restrictions on girls’, questions raised on the thinking of the society. Taking her point forward, Saba Azad strongly attacked the double attitude of the society. He said, "In our society, boys are never asked to sit at home, but even today girls are instructed not to go out after 8 pm. Even today, girls are killed as soon as they are born and the bitter reality of domestic violence is present in front of us. Even today the ‘manosphere’ (ideology of male supremacy) is active on the internet. Looking at all these things, I sometimes feel that instead of moving forward, we are going backwards."

What did Saba say on Deepika Padukone’s 8 hour shift? Strongly supporting actress Deepika Padukone’s demand for 8-hour shift, Saba said, "The journey of art has always been to challenge the conservative thinking of the society. Even today in our industry, people are surprised when a woman demands to work only for 8 hours on the set after giving birth to a child. The truth is that no major improvement has taken place at the ground level yet and the struggle of women for their basic facilities continues even today."

Content is taking a toll on stardom, thanks to OTT While talking about women not getting their rights and being shown their ‘place’, Saba also threw light on a positive aspect. He said that compared to theatres, things have definitely become a little better with the advent of OTT Platforms. According to Saba, "Today, excellent content is being written on OTT keeping women at the center. Now it is not at all the case that a female actor stops getting work after getting married, rather the actresses are doing excellent work even after marriage. OTT platforms should be thanked for this, because now there is more demand for pure ‘content’ than hollow ‘stardom’."