Actor Raveena Tandon has criticised the online trolling Aishwarya Rai faced a couple of months ago when she walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. Calling it “deeply unfortunate and incredibly unfair”, Raveena linked it to the ‘digital culture’.
Raveena Tandon supports Aishwarya Rai
In May this year, Aishwarya drew attention for her annual appearance at Cannes. After she walked the red carpet in a sculpted blue gown by Amit Aggarwal, the actor unwittingly became the subject of online trolling. In a recent interview, Raveena addressed the trolling Aishwarya faced, saying the constant scrutiny of women’s looks reflects a “toxic trait” in the social media age.
“It is unfortunate and incredibly unfair. This relentless, hyper-fixation on a woman’s ageing process, her weight, or her wardrobe choice is an ongoing toxic trait of our digital culture,” Raveena told PTI.
The Bollywood star praised Aishwarya, her junior in the industry, calling her a ‘global icon’. “Aishwarya is an absolute global icon who has represented our country with unparalleled dignity and grace on international platforms for decades. To reduce a woman of her stature, achievements, and intelligence down to a bad camera angle or an experimental dress is just miserable behaviour,” she added.
Raveena said that the fixation of women’s ageing bodies and faces highlights a double standard as well. “It reveals a broader, everyday cultural double standard, like we demand our female stars remain permanently frozen in time, looking exactly like they did twenty years ago, while male actors are allowed to age, change, and grow without an ounce of the same brutal scrutiny,” the 53-year-old actor said.
Besides Raveena, actors Madhuri Dixit Nene and Kangana Ranaut also came out in support of Aishwarya following online criticism surrounding her appearance at the festival.
Raveena’s recent film
Raveena is currently basking in the success of her latest movie, Welcome to the Jungle. Directed by Ahmed Khan, the comedy caper has minted over ₹100 crore in India. The multi-starrer features a strong ensemble cast of 34 actors led by Akshay Kumar. Apart from him and Raveena, the cast also includes Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Jackie Shroff, Tusshar Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Lara Dutta,, Disha Patani, Farida Jalal, Johny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi, Aftab Shivdasani, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma, Kiran Kumar, Zakir Hussain, Vindu Dara Singh, Urvashi Rautela, Hemant Pandey, Brijendra Kala, Feroze Khan, Puneet Issar, Sudesh Berry, Jeetu Verma, Vrihi Kodvara, Adityaa Singgh, and Bhagya Bhanushali, among others.