Trolling Alia Bhatt on her pregnancy reflects the regressive mentality of Indians

For actor Alia Bhatt promoting Darlings has meant tackling a barrage of media questions, including one about a purported boycott that some on Twitter have demanded for her film. The charge on her is that the film promotes domestic violence, an assumption that makes absolutely no sense before its release. Bhatt tackled this by stating that we need to boycott these boycotts. She also tackled the tricky question of current sinking state of Bollywood star films, by mentioning that pay should match results. While asking famous people questions is the media’s job, the one question that has come up a couple of times, rankles. Alia’s active pregnancy, which has her promoting a film and working through out, has made some wonder.

The actor tackled it smartly saying that she loves to work and that she would work till she is 100. But the question smacks of regressive patriarchy that is so deeply embedded in Indian society, or global culture, that it almost feels legitimate. It is not. Women can work till 2 days prior to delivery if a pregnancy is healthy and if one chooses to do so. That a female celebrity has to tackle this question reflects outdated thinking and typical myth making around a woman’s pregnancy.

Alia is not alone is having to face this. Indian celebrities have often faced trolling and judgment when they announced pregnancies.  Personal choice and well wish has no room for an environment filled with moral judgment and garden variety nastiness. Kalki Koechlin was trolled when she announced that she is pregnant without being married. From questioning her as to where is her husband, calling her out for improper moral conduct, to making nasty remarks about her wearing fitted clothes, Kalki faced it all.  She has been dating Guy Hershberg for a few years and they co-parent their  daughter, Sappho.  Similarly Amy Jackson, who is a star in South Indian films, was trolled for having a baby with her boyfriend.

Neha Dhupia faced trolling when she announced both pregnancies, for having been pregnant before having married her partner Angad Bedi. She also faced nasty remarks on post-partum weight after her second child. Similarly,  Dia Mirza was called out for being pregnant when she got married. Getting pregnant before marriage also earned Amrita Arora Ladak a whole lot of criticism some year back. Mira Rajput, Shahid Kapoor’s wife and a social media celebrity, faced judgement for getting pregnant at a young age.

Rounding off allegations of having gotten married in haste because she was expecting; to random questions about Ranbir Kapoor caring for her at home during her pregnancy; Alia has spoken in an interview to a news website that these are simply clickbait controversies that some media outlets create. While this is true, and it is a useful tool to gather traffic in a highly competitive Internet news market, these stories get clicked and devoured by the public . Here in India, pregnancies and marriages are obsessive compulsive habits of people. Getting married or having a baby, particularly in times of social media, are carefully built photo fits, even amongst young folks in cities and towns. That female movie stars opt out of the standard procedure of when to get married, or have a child, baffles a chunk of people. For the need of marriage and children is deeply cultivated amongst kids and young adults across our nation.

Judgments on celebrity women for becoming pregnant is not limited to India. Serena Williams stunned everyone when she announced on Reddit that she is 20 weeks pregnant with her partner, and then went on to win the Australia Open. In 2017 the Internet had a meltdown with trolls actually stumped on what to make of her unmatched sporting achievement for a bit, till New Scientist, a journal came up with a video linking Williams’ pregnancy to her win. Her single minded achievement seemed to matter little. Then Kate Hudson got trolled each time she posted pictures of her baby bump; and Kate Middleton, the British royal that brings in steady revenue for UK publications with her appearances, got viciously trolled for  wearing a velvet dress during her 3^rd pregnancy. These aren’t the only women to face humiliation and shaming on social media related to their pregnancy.

When it comes a woman’s choice over her body and her motherhood, the West is actually one step behind South Asia or South East Asia. What else can rationalize the overturning of Roe Vs Wade in the USA, whereby anti-abortion laws swung back by a century; and women lost control over their own bodies, even in extreme circumstances. But this sickening fascination over a woman’s choice to get pregnant and care for a child in her womb, just goes on to validate that gender bias is here to stay. Whatever a woman  might achieve or make happen over time, it is secondary to her natural position as child bearer. That Alia Bhatt has taken a firm stand, and given two hoots to trolls while walking into packed press gatherings, reflects true grit. It is also a step forward for the Indian celebrity woman. Do what you want, when you want to.

Archita Kashyap is an experienced journalist and writer on film, music, and pop culture. She has handled entertainment content for broadcast news and digital platforms over 15 years. 

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