It’s ironic that no matter how successful a woman becomes; she’s still defined by her husband’s success or failure. Ironically, she also is blamed for her man’s failures, held up as a symbol of luck or prosperity and even an actor of the stature of Anushka Sharma isn’t exempted from this hetero-patriarchal norm.
This was apparent in the way Farokh Engineer, looking to target MSK Prasad and Co, ended up dragging Anushka Sharma into it, with a misogynist rant dripping with casual sexism.
Engineer came down heavily on the senior national selection committee, saying all that the selectors were doing during the World Cup in England earlier this year was getting Anushka Sharma "cups of tea", according to a report in the Times Of India.
"I didn't even know one of the selectors during the World Cup and I asked him who the hell he was, because he was wearing the India blazer and he said he was one of the selectors. All they were doing was getting Anushka Sharma cups of tea," Engineer said.
Now, Anushka has borne the brunt of a media and public glare which was never of her making. She has however kept silent till now, but Engineer’s ill-advised comments appeared to tip the cauldron as she ripped into all the haters in a scathingly articulate post.
While a chunk of netizens reacted to Anushka’s outburst with memes, wondering if she was ‘high or PMSing’? Let’s be real, internet troll, you are too scared to put your face to your name, she on the other hand is an independent working woman who is a Bollywood A-lister despite being an outsider and has accomplishments most keyboard warriors couldn’t fathom in a lifetime.
And she isn’t just a film star. In 2017, Sharma launched her own fashion label Nush in collaboration with Suditi industries for the Indian market. Her brand has been quite successful for its sustainable approach and being inexpensive.
In 2018, Anushka was the only Bollywood actress to join Asia's 30 Under 30 list. Forbes hailed her as one of India’s highest paid actresses.
In addition to her business, she also supports various charities and causes, including gender equality and animal rights. She loves her furry friends and worked to ask for a ban on horse-drawn carriages in Mumbai. She also launched 'Pawsitivity', a campaign aimed at sensitising people about the adverse effects of pollution on animals.
Anushka is the co-founder of the production company Clean Slate Films. The production house has churned out films like NH10, Phillauri, and Pari. Sharma’s last film was Zero alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif.
Apart from all her work on and off-screen, and being honoured with several accolades, if our society still thinks she is only an extension of her husband, there is something incredibly wrong and demeaning about it.
Anushka’s post was a timely reminder to every Uncle sitting out there, women aren’t just extensions of their husbands. This is 2019, get on with the program.
