Sanjay’s ‘cover up’ act raises hackles

[1]

Sanjay Dutt asked Ameesha Patel to cover up at Rohit Dhawan’s sangeet ceremony as he thought her dress was too revealing

Spare us the lesson in decency. That seems to be the response of young women in the city to the recent incident involving Sanjay Dutt and Ameesha Patel where the actor reportedly asked Ameesha to “cover up”.
For those not in the know, Ameesha apparently took umbrage to Sanju draping a dupatta across her shoulders because he considered her outfit at Desi Boyz director Rohit Dhawan’s sangeet a little too revealing. While Sanju baba’s supporters in the industry have rushed to his defense, claiming that he only acted out of concern, young women professionals are not amused, as they say this patronising attitude is one they often have to put up with.
“Why is it always men who comment on a woman’s clothes?” asks women’s rights activist and lawyer Flavia Agnes. “How often do you hear a woman asking a man why he’s dressed a certain way? History is witness to the fact that men have always interfered with women’s lifestyles (out of concern or otherwise).”
Their predecessors may have had to bear that interference, but today’s woman is in no mood to. Says actress Gul Panag, “How I dress and how I act is completely my concern. I find comments in that direction so inconsequential that I wouldn’t even respond to them. Forget about getting upset, it wouldn’t even register on my radar.”
It’s a sentiment that Mahek Sabat, who’s spearheading Mumbai’s version of the Slutwalk — Maalchaal — echoes. With her penchant for short skirts and tattoos, Mahek attracts comments galore from the moral brigade, but her philosophy of “if you’ve got it, flaunt it” allows her to turn an uncaring shoulder to the naysayers. “I believe in living life on my own terms, and if anyone doesn’t appreciate the way I dress, it’s their problem,” asserts Mahek. “As for Ameesha, she’s worked hard to get a toned body, so what’s wrong if she wants to flaunt it?”
Indeed, this is where the industry’s double standards come in. While filmmakers ask — indeed, expect — their actresses to dress skimpily on screen (think Ameesha in the Lazy Lamhe number or the Jacqueline Fernandez-Raaz 3 controversy), off screen, it would seem another set of rules apply. In the event, it is up to the women to simply brush off such negative remarks. “I think we need to know when to pay heed to such comments and when not to,” opines Flavia.
Actress Pooja Bedi agrees. She says, “When someone comments on your personal style, you can brush it off if it stems from jealousy. But if it is out of concern — only then should you give it a thought.”
Designer Swapnil Shinde, who counts Bollywood’s leading divas among his clients, said he wouldn’t want to comment on Ameesha’s style quotient as that is a personal matter. “But unless the party was being hosted by Sanjay, I don’t think he had the right to comment on Ameesha’s outfit,” Swapnil adds.