IT’S HIGH TIME WE FEEL FREE: NAWAZ
Nawazuddin Siddiqui sheds light on prejudices we need to eradicate from our country
Being trolled for one’s thoughts, targeted for one’s looks, skin colour, gender and what not — there are many shackles that we Indians need to break away from. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui agrees. With an exclusive photo shoot for Independence Day, the Babumoshai Bandokbaaz actor opens up about the freedom that India awaits.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
“When one has the freedom to say what they feel, there will be a healthy debate. Curbing thoughts and trolling people for saying what they feel is making us go backwards as a country. When expression of thoughts is stopped, you end up underestimating the young minds,” says Nawaz.
NO PREJUDICES AGAINST SKIN COLOUR
“I feel that the love most Indians have for whiter skin stems from the colonial days. The British ruled over India for years and due to that, some of us still feel that white skin denotes superiority. We strive to get whiter skin,” says the actor. “I have many male and female friends who have married goras (white foreigners), with the idea that if the person is a foreigner he or she must be rich. That is a preconceived notion. Later, they realise their partner doesn’t bathe for days, doesn’t earn much, and face issues... [On the contrary], brown skin is ‘exotic’ for foreigners. They love to get tanned... We must embrace our skin colour.”
FREEDOM FROM GENDER BIAS
Nawaz doesn’t mince his words when he says, “Women should be able to do anything they want.” He has a question for those, including people in positions of power, who ask: ‘Why was the girl roaming outside at 2am?’ “I want to ask, ‘Why can’t she?’ I want to tell such people that women can go out at 4am, and you have to ensure they are safe. If there is a problem in our society, we have to fix that instead of telling girls to stay at home. From childhood, girls are told how to behave, what to worry about while going out, and the same girls go and make Indians proud world over in every field possible. I think, women should run our country. They are responsible and will do a fantastic job,” says the 43-year-old actor.
FREEDOM FROM ETHNICITY BIAS
There is a perception that beauty has to be of a certain kind. “That’s where people go wrong,” says Nawaz. “People who decide how one should look infuse a sense of inferiority complex in others. There is a marketing strategy behind this mindset to sell beauty products and tell the world, ‘This is how you should look.’ If you don’t, you don’t fit in. We should shed this forced concept. I have heard of people who want to be different but wonder if they’ll be accepted in the society, and feel they are wrong. This line of thinking leads to the youth underestimating themselves,” adds the actor.
Curbing thoughts and trolling people for saying what they feel is making us go backwards as a country NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI, ACTOR