“I Was Called A Sl*t”: 69-Year-Old Actress and Ex-Bigg Boss Contestant Trolled For ‘Sexy’ Photos. Sigh.
Society in general is kaafi ageist. ‘Budhaape mein jawaani’ has been used since forever to shame older people with interests that are considered ‘young’. And women do have to bear a larger brunt of this. It’s almost as if women have a shelf life to do things. In fact, I’d like to think the whole ‘biological clock ticking’ seems to have extended its effect to other things too, like what women can wear, what they can do and who they can love. Take this 69-year-old Rajini Chandy actress and former Bigg Boss Malayalam contestant, for example, who recently got trolled because the photos she posted on her social media were ‘too sexy’ for her age.
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Rajini Chandy spoke to BBC about how she was trolled over some photos of her’s, taken by Kerala-based photographer Athira Joy. The photos showed the 69-year-old housewife-turned-actress in Kochi, where she lives, dressed in flowy dresses, jumpsuits, distressed jeans, even a fresh flower crown and so on. Chandy looks stunning in those photos, and much unlike what you or I would imagine our mothers or grandmothers to look like! In fact, that’s exactly what drew Joy to capture Chandy, because she wasn’t like how most Indian woman become when they are in their 60s, burdened by health issues and not taking care of themselves.
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“But Rajini is different – she takes care of herself, she’s fit, she’s bold, she’s beautiful, she’s fashionable. She’s 69, but in her mind, she’s 29, just like me,” Joy told BBC.
However, out society is too narrow-minded, regressive and shallow. They didn’t see the beauty in those shots, but thought Rajini Chandy was acting ‘too sexy’ for her age. Since she’s usually been dressing in elegant sarees and Indian wear, to see her in these ‘young people clothes’ was too much for their dainty sensibilities. While the local media loved her photoshoot and showered praises on her once the photos appeared on Facebook, the trolls weren’t far behind to ruin the moment.
Rajini Chandy told BBC about the comments she received. ”I was called a slut. Someone asked me, ‘Haven’t you died yet?’ Another suggested that I ‘sit at home and read the Bible. This is your age to pray, not show off your body’. Yet another person said I was an old auto rickshaw and even if I got a new coat of paint, I’d still be old.”
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One picture in particular, of Chandy dressed in denims with her legs apart and showing a hint of cleavage, seem to have triggered people more. How can someone of a grandma’s age look sexy, flaunt her cleavage or show her bare legs? She’s opening herself to be sexualised and that’s wrong, right? Honestly, it’s all in the eye of the beholder, which these days thinks age is just a number. Kids are young as 1-2 are being sexualised these days!
A lot of times, it is the women who put women down too. So you’ll have your own mothers, aunts, sisters or friends tell you to ‘dress your age’ and propagate the notion that woman shouldn’t ‘dress provocatively’ or try to look after their appearance much when they age.
I’m glad we’ve got women like Rajini Chandy who aren’t letting age bog them down and are standing up to these stereotypes and breaking them! As the tagline says, sadaa sexy raho!
https://thehauterfly.com/culture-2/mona-singh-female-characters-dress-realistic/
