Priyanka Chopra is in news yet again for getting trolled and hated for her Assam tourism ad. Reason? The actress was wearing 'minimal clothes' — 'a frock' and showed 'cleavage' on the Assam tourism calendar.
Talking to Harpers Bazaar Arabia magazine, Priyanka spoke about being trolled for smallest of things, she said: "Women are shamed all the time, for everything. For what they might wear or say. For what they should be doing, where they're going."
"There's no way I would have had an almost 20-year career if I was sensitive to people's opinions. I live my life for myself and for the people I care about. I learned very early in my career there is no way in the world you will be able to please everyone. So why bother. It's somebody sitting behind the anonymity of their computer and having an opinion. How does it matter? I love social media, I put whatever I want out there, but I don't take people's opinions seriously because if I started doing that, I wouldn't be able to live life at all."
"The way I see it is, feminism stands for my choice to live my life without being judged. Now, whether I as a woman want to feel sexy, whether I don't want to feel sexy. Whether I want to have a voice, whether I want to be meek. Whatever a woman's individuality is, that needs to be appreciated," the Quantico actress added.
Priyanka was also asked if Indian culture is conservative in comparison to the West, to which she said: "We're from the land of Kama Sutra. We taught the world how to have babies, so sexy comes naturally to us, especially Indian women. Indian culture is not conservative, it's not submissive, it's actually very empowering of women. There is a seductiveness to Indian women. The long hair, the kohl in the eyes, the long sari, the waist. It's all sexy."
Well, we believe that while Priyanka is promoting Indian culture abroad, we Indians are stooping low to such mind-numbing objections and protests. What about the video campaigns she shot in saree, which was viewed by over 1 million people? How convenient to forget that and focus on one 'immodest frock' on the calendar.
Assam Tourism Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has supported Priyanka Chopra over the controversy and told the media: "A section of Congress legislators in Assam are trying to get cheap publicity out of the issue. When we receive felicitation in some stage do we go wearing dhoti, the traditional dress of Assam or wearing pants and shirts? If someone comes to Assam from abroad will he be felicitated after wearing dhoti?"
This is not the first time Priyanka Chopra has grabbed headlines for Assam tourism. Bajirao Mastani actress was appointed by the Assam government as the brand ambassador of the Assam Tourism Development Corporation in 2016. The actress chose to remain silent when floods hit the state last year or when she referred to Sikkim as an insurgency hit state while the reality is that Sikkim is the most peaceful state in the northeast region. Well, we hope this controversy ends soon.
On the professional front, Priyanka Chopra is currenlt busy shooting for Quantico Season 3. She uploaded a picture on Instagram captioning it as: "Trying to keep my eyes open! #exhausted #quantico3"
She also took to Twitter a few days back and wrote: "This has to stop! Children should be able to go to school and come back home alive. Heartbroken. #stonemanshooting"
