Kanagana Ranaut rocked the Mind Rocks debate at the India Today conclave at Delhi where she spoke at length about slut shaming, standing up to bullies and collecting ‘semen panties’ because she’s a baller. Talking about elitism in Bollywood, Kangana said –
Haan toh hai accent off, toh kya ho gaya? Yaha pe inko mera accent fake lagta hai, yeh log jab khud bahar jaate hain waha inka accent fake lagta hai.
She then spoke about standing up to bullies, not in their own language but in the way you’re comfortable with. Don’t let the bully use you as bait. The topic then moved towards physical violence and Kangana’s narrated the time she felt she was going to die because of abuse –
When I was 17 I was faced with extreme physical violence to the point where I literally saw my death looking me in the eye, the person who was subjecting me to that kind of bully is very influential. As a teenager I had an option to put up with that and lead a comfortable life without anyone knowing what is going on. Or being a minor, go to cops, lodge an FIR make it public. That also meant letting my parents and my world know the kind of humiliation I was going through. Open myself to judgement and scrutiny but at 17 I filed an FIR.
The conversation then veered towards to another legal battle she famously fought this year (Hrithik Roshan), here’s what Kangana said –
There was no legal proceeding against me in this matter, there was media drama, there were lot of threats there was slut shaming but no case was filed against me, so there was no question of fighting a legal battle.
There was a lot of feminist pressure on me to fight, to reveal my sob story to the world, but I didn’t have any, I was in a consensual equation with an individual and I was felt perfectly capable of dealing with the stuff that was coming my way as an adult but I was pressurized to a point where I was questioning what exactly is feminism we’re talking about? Is it fighting for an individual’s acceptance or begging for his acknowledgment publicly? An individual who doesn’t have an iota of respect for you? Is this feminism? Then I’m not a feminist.
She further added –
Is it is essential for us to save the memories of our love affairs whether they’re sperm stained panties or gifts that were given to us by a lover as potential evidence for a future when he’s trying to escape or say no? If that is feminism then I’m not a feminist. If it’s feminism to not allow a prerogative of a man saying no and if its a prerogative of just a woman to say no, then I’m not a feminist, a no means a no. If any individual wants nothing to do with me and feels ashamed of me or wants to get rid of me, the only thing I’m going to do for that individual is say goodbye!
Watch the video here –
Also, feminism means of equality of both sexes. That’s it.
