Ask her more, and you shall receive

We’ve been seeing stars grace the red carpet for ages, and we’ve also witnessed the strange relationship an interviewer shares with the glitterati. What we may have failed to notice, though, is that actresses seem to get questions mostly about their personal lives and their attire, whereas actors seem to get the meatier and more substantial queries! But, things are taking a turn for the better with campaigns such as #AskHerMore that urge journalists to ask actresses more than just the usual. We talk to actresses about if they’ve faced such issues and what they’d like to ask their male counterparts if the roles were reversed.

“Thankfully, I’m asked questions about my films but more often than not, I get asked about the clothes I’m wearing — which is okay if asked in the correct context. It’s really redundant to ask such questions at a work-related interaction,” says Kajal Aggarwal. “It’s not a sexist thing, I feel the quality of questions for both men and women have deteriorated in general or maybe they don’t believe in doing their homework! But yes, I’d love to ask the men in the industry a question I get asked often — ‘How do you FEEL about competition?’ Nobody seems to care about how they feel!” she laughs.

Vishakha Singh also shared her thoughts, “I get really annoyed when I’m asked how I got the ‘chance’ to work in a film. Even my co-actors have been asked if they’d give me a ‘chance’. It makes one feel at the mercy of our male counterparts to get work. Another statement I dislike is — you look so cute and bubbly. Even critics seem to concentrate on the looks of the actress rather than the acting. I’d much rather be asked about my process of selecting films.” She goes on to say, “I’d love to know from directors and writers, how they can write full-fledged female characters without a single woman writer on the team. I’d love to see a heroine from a woman’s perspective, and not what a man thinks a woman should be like.”

Nikki Galrani, on the other hand, seems to have faced no such issues. “I’ve been very selective about the roles I play. So, I haven’t been asked questions such as these. But yes, I have noticed that actresses do get asked them a lot. Especially, intrusive ones. I believe everyone’s life is private. It’s their choice whether or not they want to speak about it.” Raai Laxmi has had first-hand experience with shoddy journalism when it comes to women — “I had an experience in which I was misquoted. According to the article, I had  said that it was okay to sleep with co-stars. I filed a case and won against them but it did tarnish my reputation. I feel that women are targeted about who they’re seeing and what they’re wearing.”

When asked about what question she gets all the time and would like male actors to answer instead, she quips, “I’ve seen women’s affairs with men being blown out of proportion. Some may be true, some not, but it still doesn’t warrant character shaming when men go scot-free. I’d love to ask men having multiple affairs —what would you call yourself?!” Maybe it’s time to tidy up our act and let the actresses talk about more than Louboutins!