Shruti Haasan: We’re in position to effect change

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; May 22, 2023)

A bevy of Indian beauties have been seen at the Cannes Film Festival over the last few days, soaking the sights and sounds of cinema and the French Riviera. Shruti Haasan tells us what makes her Cannes visit so special this year. Excerpts:

What’s on your Cannes agenda this time around?
My previous experience at Cannes was completely different. This time around, I’m truly excited as I’ll speak about my international film, The Eye, which is very close to my heart. Cannes is a melting pot of culture and incredible talent, and I’m proud to represent my country through an international film.

You will also be attending a discussion on gender and pay parity at Cannes. This has been a much-debated topic over the years. Priyanka Chopra Jonas recently said that she was paid equally as her male co-star for the first time in her 22-year-old career for the series Citadel. What are your thoughts on it?
That’s amazing for her. The rest of us are waiting and working towards catching up. I hope someday we reach a level of pay equality, where this topic isn’t even required to be discussed. Honestly, there’s a huge and long bridge for us to cross. I’m excited and honoured to be conversing with an amazing group of people at the session Breaking Through the Lens, pioneered by my director, Daphne Schmon. In order to achieve pay parity and gender equality, changes need to happen strategically and organically. The first step, as always, is to talk about it.

Like the cinema we see at Cannes, the style statements made on the red carpet during the festival too draw a lot of attention. Do you get affected by all the fashion policing?
Honestly, I’m never as excited about walking on the red carpet as I should be. I have fun, and I see others who take it more seriously, and I applaud that. My sense of style and fashion has always been a bit different, and I like to be myself. I have always loved the way Cate Blanchett dresses on any red carpet.
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Set to participate in a conversation around gender parity at Cannes, Shruti discusses struggles of being a female actor in India
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; May 22, 2023)

Six years after she first turned up on the Cannes red carpet to promote a film she had eventually dropped out of, Shruti Haasan is set to return to the gala. This time around, Haasan, in the capacity of the chief guest of honour, will participate in a round-table discussion on gender parity. Titled Activating Change, and hosted by Breaking through the Lens, the talk will focus on challenges and opportunities that the under-represented genders in the film industry face.

“I have spoken to my co-stars about [gender parity] but, it is not a conversation we get into in detail, because it is still awkward and hasn’t been dealt with openly. I am happy to start talking about it. A lot of us are in the process of [effecting] change, be it about mental health, or pay parity. I was always influenced by musicians who spoke about their struggles, or of their triumphs and tribulations,” she says.

In an industry that dotes over its male actors, is Haasan often dissuaded by the lack of parity? “I never forget the fact that I am privileged. In India, we still don’t have proper health or sanitation for girls, or access to education and clean water. When I look at it through that lens, I feel, those are the first things that we should be speaking about. I have focused on raising awareness about the larger good and questioning patriarchy.”

The actor, who fronts the Hollywood movie, The Eye, admits that she often finds herself juggling between choosing promising opportunities, and raising her voice against discrimination. “I have also been part of films where my roles have been cut at the editing table, or have been seen as the second lead to the man. But, when I get the opportunity to do female-driven subjects, I will do them.”