Controversy queen
She is often branded bold, brazen, frank or plain bad because she does not mince words or hesitate to call a spade a spade. Renjini Haridas, anchor, model and actor refuses to hide behind a mask of politeness and diplomacy, scattering both virtues to the winds. She dresses flamboyantly, speaks her mind, has verbally abused men who have abused her and slapped men who have attempted to grope her; she works hard and parties harder. Consequently, she has been tagged bad by a large section of people in Kerala, something she finds amusing.
Laughing away the tag, she very staunchly announces, “I find such tags funny and entertaining! I am very sure of who I am and the only people I need to convince about my actions or behaviour is my family! Whatever I do, it is sure to be blown out of proportion even if I was only protecting myself. There are many girls like me out there now but possibly at the time I was starting off my career, people were not sure about how to handle a smart, confident and frank woman. It is not possible to make individuals adhere to rules made by others and dictate terms.” She says that she wants equal opportunities and equal rules which do not imply being better than a man but being equal to him. She points out that society should acknowledge women as individuals.
Renjini was recently in the eye of a storm when she was accused of verbally abusing a co-passenger at the airport and was blamed for jumping the queue. She clarifies, “I reacted and gave my version of the events that transpired only because I felt the entire episode was reported from a one-sided angle. The reason I reacted at the airport is because I felt it unfair that I was abused by a man in front of 1,000-odd people. I have filed a case which is going on.” She was also accused of slapping a man in Kannur and she bristles, “If a man gropes me, I am not going to stand there and cry; I will react!”
Hidden behind that hard exterior is a heart that turns to mush at the mention of stray animals. She is a part of the organisation Karma that rehabilitates stray dogs. Adding that dogs are much nicer and have unconditional love, she says that the cause is very dear to her heart, even wanting to start her own animal shelter. She herself has opened her home to abused pets adopting some of them. Renjini is also associated with Janaseva Sisubhavan, a charitable organisation active in women centric issues.
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