In the recent past, many female actors have begun calling out paparazzi for being intrusive and zooming in on their bodies without consent. At an award function a while back, Mrunal Thakur shut them down when they asked her for a back pose. Palak Tiwari also reprimanded them when they clicked her from behind despite requesting them not to. And recently, Janhvi Kapoor’s request to the shutterbugs to not capture her from ‘wrong angles’ also went viral.
She spoke up against this paparazzi practice and stated how self-conscious she has begun to feel when they click her from unflattering angles. And now, Mona Singh exclusively tells News18 Showsha that she too feels such practices are ‘disturbing’. Talking about how she feels it’s a gendered thing, she says, “They keep focusing on women’s bodies inappropriately. Will they do this to a man by zooming into their crotch when they’re walking? No, they won’t. But they do that to every woman.”
Mona also expresses her thoughts on how she feels that the paparazzi sometimes anticipates a fashion malfunction to happen so that they can impart an element of sensationalism to it and run those pictures. “Whether you attend an event or go to an award function, these are the kinds of videos you keep seeing of yourself. I think every woman actor should stand up and raise their voice against it. It’s really not cool what they do. It’s almost like they wait for some faux pas to happen,” she remarks.
On the work front, Mona is currently awaiting the release of Munjya, a horror-comedy film which is a part of the Maddock Supernatural Universe after Stree, Roohi and Bhediya. It is being touted to be the first CGI film starring an animated character. According to the makers, it explores a legendary creature called Munjya from Indian folklore.
Indian television abounds in supernatural horror shows and it’s a template that remains relevant for the television-watching audience to this date. In fact, in the past, Mona has also been a part of a supernatural show called Kavach Kaali Shaktiyon Se, but she believes that Munjya is starkly different from the ‘regressive’ horror shows on television.
She says, “I wouldn’t call this regressive at all. This is pretty progressive. A combination of horror with comedy is brilliant because people like us who aren’t out-and-out horror fans can easily go and watch a film like Munjya, which is so entertaining and gives you the chance to learn so much about CGI and appreciate cinema. I’m very happy and proud to be a part of this franchise.”
The Made In Heaven and Kaala Paani actor further continues, “I don’t think we should ever compare Munjya with all the horror shows on television because of the budget, the storytelling and the treatment. I’m very happy to be a part of Maddock’s universe. It’s a first for me as well as for Sharvari and Abhay (Verma). It’s a very interesting phase.”
