Breaking the mould

Television actress Saloni Chopra is in the news with her new photo series. Better known for MTV’s Girls on Top, the actress shared a set of five pictures on her social media account, to talk about the issues that women face in society. It is an attempt to break stereotypes and highlights sensitive issues that many shy away from.

Talking about the inspiration behind the shoot, the actress says, “I see comments by many girls and women on my social media page almost every day about love, relationships and heartbreak, and it is quite disheartening. I am no counsellor, but I thought I could do this. Rather than talking about the honeymoon period of love, I talked about how people stereotype women. There are many women in rural areas who are victims of domestic violence and who would not be able to read my messages, but many in metropolitan cities are victims too. If we aren’t able to stop it in the big cities, how can we even think of eradicating abuse from our villages?” she asks.

Saloni believes that much needs to be done to educate women about their rights and equality. “It is so sad that people shy away from that term. Feminism is about equality and not male-bashing. So many girls say, ‘I believe in being a strong individual and doing what I like, but I am not a feminist’.” Although many have liked the photo series Saloni has come up with, there was some backlash too.

 “I knew there would be a backlash. However, I noticed that whenever there is even a single negative comment, there are at least five responses to counter it,” says Saloni, who grew up in Australia and moved to India five years ago to become a fashion designer. But destiny had other plans for her.

 “My mother never stopped me from doing anything. I wanted to be a fashion designer. I joined Nift, but left soon after. I worked as an assistant director for movies such as Krrish 3 and Kick and styled Randeep Hooda before trying my hand at acting,” she says.