The world keeps changing a lot, but for women, not so much. If I say this, when I say this, it feels like I’m stating something that everyone knows. Sometimes, it feels like I’m not doing enough for other women, because I keep fighting for the obvious. Because there are so many little things that build up into bigger things, but no one cares to notice the smaller details. I don’t care to notice the smaller details, on some days. For instance, every time Zeenat Aman puts a post about a profound thought, I’m intrigued by it. Today, I was made to look at the lingering incidents that make up those posts.
So now I want to talk about those incidents, those little things and the in-betweens because they are just as important. Like today, Zeenat Aman shared what it feels like being told that she has aged gracefully. She then went onto talk about how it’s normal for ‘stars’ to age gracefully because there are processes involved to it. She wrote: “Any ‘star‘ you see has a team of people in the wings – nutritionists, personal trainers, make up artists, hair stylists, clothes stylists, dermatologists, dentists, sometimes cosmetic surgeons and more.”
Like every thing the actor says, there were more layers to this one subject, as well. The simple fact that ageing gracefully in emotion is not so process-driven. It comes with conduct that people may or may not have. It is also something that comes from within. She shared this from her experiences, which include being let down.
She does this often, she shares a lot of her life in bits that come bearing a lot of thought. The pure effort to not only put herself out there, but also be real while at it, is something. It’s something that makes you want to trust that person. And you know, trust is a heavy word – you cannot associate it with everyone – especially stars who have these altogether different-looking lives. So when we trust someone, it probably means that the person is doing something right. In this case, Zeenat Aman has this thing of not shying away.
This one story where she talks about the director who threw a tantrum, is an example. She talked about the time when she was late on set because the actor was late, and somehow the responsibility fell on her. It happens often with women, when we do something right, we are not acknowledged for it. When someone else makes a mistake, we are handed the responsibility. It’s not so much a task to get something so small, but people somehow don’t. This one post, however, was like a subtle explainer.
I had just about stepped foot on set when from across the room the director let loose a torrent of abuse! He was absolutely catatonic, and under the impression that it was I who had held up production.
In another post, she shared an old video where she talked about the gender pay gap. It’s something we all know exists, it’s one of those things that hasn’t changed for women. However, how we still largely don’t treat it as a serious issue, is something that requires being pointed out. She did that. In this particular note, the actor put the onus on men in the industry to make sure that women are paid fairly. And ‘fairly’ may be a subjective term, but in no way does it justify being paid less than men.
With the note, she put an old interview clip where she talks about the role that women get to play in Bollywood. These ornamental roles that she referred to, have somewhat lessened, but they do exist. And the truth that things remain similar, in terms of compensation, says more about the mentality. In a lot of ways, even the women-led films look like a big show when we know that they aren’t treated so much as equals in reality.
Zeenat Aman does this often, she talks about things as they are and as they used to be. She puts them in profound ways, but that never comes off as sugar-coating. In talking about the industry’s obsession with looks, or how some films don’t age well, she has been honest to her fans. She has been honest about change being a choice – especially when it comes to women – change is not so much driven by time as it is by society. In a patriarchal society, for instance, change is driven by what works more for men. Or what leaves space for their vanity.
All we learn from these posts, stories and tiny details is that there may be a lot to be happy about. But if we logistically look at it, it’s just not enough.