When heroines won’t take it lying down!

Gone are the days when actresses were expected to be docile, submissive and toe the line of ‘tradition’. Today’s heroines are no pushovers, and they refuse to conform to any idealised image of how a woman should behave, dress, or speak. So, when they are being slut-shamed or trolled by the moral brigade, they serve it right back. Remember when social media erupted with abusive and patronising comments on a picture of Priyanka Chopra, in a short dress, sitting cross-legged as she interacted with the PM, seated across her? Almost similar was what Dangal actress Fatima Sana Shaikh faced, when she posted a bikini picture of hers during the month of Ramzan. From opening up on casting couch, to calling out uncouth behaviour of co-stars and technicians to speaking up on gender disparity in remuneration and actively participating in #MeToo movement — women are now a vocal lot. Check out a few instances in recent times, where our actresses unambiguously declared that they will continue to live life on their own terms... Priya Bhavani ShankarPriya received a comment from someone who confessed his disappointment in seeing her dressed in a semi-transparent outfit. He commented, ‘Sutham had huge hopes for you… No more a dream girl.. Hoping it wont get any worse thou’ (sic), to which she replied, ‘Thank you very much but I don’t want to be a dream girl to a man of such filthy judgements. All the best to find another hopeful dream girl’ (sic). SamanthaA few days ago, the actress was attacked by culture vigilantes on Instagram where she had posted a picture of hers, vacationing with actor-husband Naga Chaitanya, in a beach dress. Many were quick to take offence to see this picture of a married woman in this attire, while for a few others, the picture was completely unacceptable as she’s now the daughter-in-law of a respectable family. The star, later, posted a picture of the middle finger, and words which said, ‘For all those of you who thought you had a say in how I should live my life after marriage’. Radhika ApteShe is known to be someone who doesn’t mince words and calls a spade a spade. The revelation she made about snapping at a south star when the latter behaved indecently with her hit the headlines some time ago. The Kabali actress was also in the news when a few started commenting on her Instagram timeline after she posted a picture of hers in a bikini on a beach in Goa. In an interview, which Radhika gave a few days later, she reportedly asked, “Do people expect me to wear a saree to the beach”?Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli The actress was at the receiving end after her short film Lakshmi, which had her playing a bold character, came in for criticism from the moral police brigade. She essayed the role of a wife who is constantly taken for granted by her husband and is looked at as a property to quench his sexual thirst. The character later becomes close to another man, who, she feels, gives her more respect as a human being. Trolls posted negative remarks in the comment section of the short film, criticising her for accepting such a role, which, according to them, mocked the sanctity of marriage. Later, the actress read out many of the abusive comments she had received and gave it back to each of them on a YouTube show.An apology that wasn’t neededActress Athulya Ravi, who made her debut with Kadhal Kan Kattudhe, made some fans, thanks to her ‘traditional look’ and portrayal of a girl next door. But all hell broke loose when the teaser of her next film, Yemaali, released. The teaser had shots of her character smoking and removing her top. Her ‘fans’, who expected her to continue playing ‘homely girl’ roles forever, started postings negative comments about her ‘immoral act’ in the film. Hurt by the comments, Athulya responded by saying that fans should not to judge her based on her character in the film and even apologised for disappointing some of her fans!Taapsee PannuRecently, Taapsee’s Bollywood film Manmarziyaan became the target of the moral police on social media. They alleged that some scenes in it like smoking, pre-marital sex, etc, offended followers of Sikhism. While the film’s director, Anurag Kashyap, clarified that no scenes were shot with an intention to hurt anyone’s sentiments and that many from their crew were Sikhs, it was Taapsee who single-handedly started giving it back to the trolls. On her Twitter page, she picked up almost every offensive comment she’d received and ensured that they were shamed for their remarks. In fact, a few even deleted their tweets after the actress hit out at them.