16th of July 2018, Sunny Leona’s biopic ‘Karenjit Kaur’ released and it received a mixed response countrywide. A lot of people on the internet considered this movie a bold step while a lot of them criticised it and also claimed that it was hurting religious sentiments. Religious groups are upset with the fact that the title KAUR has been used in the movie.
During this entire debate we can’t help but think of the very celebrated biopic ‘Sanju’ that was critically and commercially acclaimed. Sanjay Dutt who happens to be a famous actor of the country has had records of being involved in criminal activities and also was known to be a womaniser. Even in the biopic, we can see how Ranbir Kapoor who plays Sanjay proudly speaks about the fact that he has slept with more than 300 women and this figure is excluding the prostitutes he has encountered.
Sunny’s story deserves to be told because she rose from an immigrant to one of the most celebrated personalities in the world. She wasn’t born with privileges unlike Sanjay and had to make tough choices in life to rise to the fame that she has today. Her struggles are what make her the strong independent woman that she is and no one can take that away from her.
We talk about gender roles and equality on the whole but this attitude that we hold as a society towards Sunny’s biopic shows a different story altogether. This reaction shows how sexism is rooted deep in our society and we still have a long way to go. When it comes to society versus gender, the battle is still not won and biopics like ‘Karenjit Kaur’ are what we need to make a difference. We need to be more open towards the struggles of her life despite her professional choices and salute the fact that she’s made it big in life today. We must also appreciate the fact that she adopted a baby girl from Latur village in Maharashtra before giving birth to two beautiful baby boys.
What do you have to say about her biopic and the comparison that we made with Sanju? Let us know your views in the comment section.
