In an act of unity and weaponized protest against a widespread media culture of invasive reporting, actress and host Mini Mathur has come out in the open against a paparazzo whose reporting on fellow actress Kajol has been widely seen as highly obnoxious and disrespectful. The incident took place in a recent event in which Kajol was introducing her upcoming show. A video on the Internet caused very harsh body-shaming comments of social media users, as it was argued that a paparazzo zoomed in on Kajol.
Minis sharp reproach where she queried how penal the paparazzo could be to point to Kajol’s lack of eternal youth has gone down well with many and has provoked a larger argument about ageism and body image especially in the entertainment industry. It is not the response to a single video, but a protest against the daily and, frequently, brutal public critique of female celebrities, whose ideas of beauty are held closer to time than reality.
The Problem with Paparazzi Culture
This case of Kajol brings out the issue that paparazzi has become a problem in modern society. Unlike mere documentations of public performances, other photographers and the media go to extreme efforts to trivialize and condemn, often humiliating a celebrity in the process.
The action of zooming in on a certain body part of an individual induces negative remarks and thus it is a matter of violation of personal space and harassment in public. This practice capitalizing on viral posts has led to a negative culture where, especially women, are automatically evaluated on the basis of their looks and not their performance.
This is a vital statement made by Mini Mathur because the aesthetic presence of a celeb is not always open to public scrutiny since their bodies are not something to use as a spectacle.
The Pressure of “Eternal Youth”
Mini Mathur stating, She does not owe you guys eternal youth, points at one of the most important problems the women in the spotlight have to deal with: the enormous pressure to stay young forever. Kajol, an acting veteran who has been in the field of acting since decades, is a living example of natural aging process coupled with a career based on talents and not appearance. Still, she is interrogated over her age and figure. This unrealistic find is not confined to the Bollywood.
It is a worldwide phenomenon that forces women to take extreme steps in order to defy the process of aging. The wording by Mini Mathur can be seen as a strong wakeup call to the media as well as the general population who have been so fixated on youthful perfection that they forget the beauty and confidence that old age brings with it.
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A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
