When it comes to women actors, Bollywood has always had a problematic relationship with ageing. Sadly, while women in this industry are constantly labeled with a shelf life, the rules are pretty different for men. In fact, Salman Khan just released a film with Disha Patani who is almost half his age as I write this story.
However, this ageism goes way deeper than just that. Sadly, women in Bollywood as well as our society, have been conditioned into thinking that ageing is a bad thing. We are led into believing that the changes that we go through while ageing will someone diminish our worth. However, the fact remains that we will age irrespective of our attitude to it. But is ageing such a bad thing after all?
Priyanka Chopra addressed the question in a recent interview with an entertainment platform. “Well, I won’t lie that I don’t get affected by it. My body has changed as I’ve gotten older, just as everyone’s body does, and I’ve had to adapt mentally as well with like, OK, this is what it looks like now, this is what I look like now, it’s alright, and catering to my now body and not my 10- or 20-years-ago body,” the actress shared while going all candid on the topic.
During the chat, Priyanka also talked about how with time, she has also learned to focus on the bigger things in life. As she shared, “I think that that’s very crucial and I feel like that really takes finding a sense of confidence in what you bring to the table outside of what you look like. I always think about, how am I contributing? What is my purpose? Am I doing good with the tasks that I’ve been given for the day? I try to be myopic about feeling good about other things, even on days that I don’t feel the best about my body, and I work toward whatever makes me happy at that time.”
For Priyanka, the biggest learning that has come out of gracefully acknowledging and respecting the process is realising her true worth. Now she knows that her confidence and her ability to impress others ‘has nothing to do with my [her] body.’
Well, contrary to what we have been led into believing, ageing is a beautiful process provided that you learn to value the changes and the learnings that come with it. Kudos to Priyanka for opening up on the topic and helping us with a fresh perspective. Here’s hoping that more women listen to what PC has to say and stop subscribing to society’s problematic notions of ageing, beauty, and womanhood. Ageing is beautiful and we are not letting anyone tell us otherwise!
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Featured Image: Instagram
