The actor talks about the security of the girl child and the propriety of public behaviour with Upasana Singh
Rare are actors who live the cause they represent, step ahead of their stardom and tokenism and utilise their voice to stand against injustice. One such is Raveena Tandon, who has been actively supporting the plank of not just women’s safety but has been working towards child’s safety and cruelty against animals as well.
An avid supporter of the girl child, the actress has yet again raised her voice against a recent facebook live video doing the rounds on social media where an Assamese singer, Angarag Mahanta, known by his stage name Papon, was caught planting a kiss on the lips of a minor contestant from The Voice India Kids in which he is a mentor. Following this, a complaint was filed against the singer with National Commission for Protection of Child Rights by Supreme Court lawyer Runa Bhuyan who alleged that he had committed sexual assault. Papon even quit the reality show.
Within no time Tandon took to twitter with her bold opinions about the whole clip and stated, “Disgusting! Shameful! Perverse! This man Papon should be arrested! The girls’ parents succumbing to pressure. The explanations given are ridiculous. Haven’t felt such anger and shame to see this happen and some individuals on TV debates actually defending the act.”
However, at a recent inaugural event where Tandon was one of the invitees, she further expressed her viewpoint which was in stark contrast to what she said earlier, “What I tweeted last night, I did in anger. Whatever was shown in the video was not believable. Though I haven’t heard anything bad about Papon before. But this kind of gesture is unacceptable. And, unless and until the case doesn’t go to law, we are no one to judge or make a statement.”
But amid all this chaos, what the actress finds immensely disturbing are the statements being made by the legal team of the singer. “I heard that they were claiming that it’s natural to place a kiss as a form of Guru-Shishaya love. Are they trying to say that if tomorrow male teachers in schools kiss our daughters on the lips, it is justifiedIJ That is something I will never agree to”, said Tandon who closed the matter on an optimistic note and further added, “I think after reaching a certain age, people should maintain an appropriate distance and dignity. And in the public space, they should be seen as doing the right thing rather than generating a controversy. Being a mother of three girls, I believe that is a necessity in our society.”
The charisma and passion with which the actress conducts herself towards her work and society has always been impressive. Marking her comeback in 2015 with Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet, the producer and former model was recently seen in Maatr where she essayed the role of a mother who fought against each and every injustice prevalent in our society in order to protect her child. “Maatr was a film conveying a social message which I very strongly believe in. But that doesn’t mean that every film I will do in the future will have a social message. I am also looking forward to a comedy masala now.” When asked about her priorities in selecting a script, she added, “A script should resonate and touch my heart. Though I have been reading a few but nothing of that sort has clicked yet.”
Building a successful career during an era when women were still reluctant to essay bold roles in the industry, she spoke about the recent trend of threatening artists over the subject of creativity: “The threats have been happening for decades now. It’s not like it’s only happening now. If you surf over the pages of history in the 70s, it happened with many actors. But I believe, present creativity is in fluid motion that cannot be stopped. So, it’s not something that one can imprison or cage. Because if one tries caging, it will definitely slip out from somewhere else,” said she.
However, the bombshell of the 90s who is still known for her toe-tapping songs like Tu Cheez badi hai mast mast, Tip Tip barsa paani, didn’t miss the chance to wish her fans on the occasion of Holi, “My best wishes to everybody for Holi. It’s a beautiful festival. I request you all to be safe and use organic colours. Avoid chemicals because they can spoil your skin.”
Photos: Pankaj Kumar