PremiumMalaika Arora reveals why she was disappointed at WPL 2024's opening ceremony, says “I was shocked”
During a recent conversation, Malaika revealed that she was shocked to witness only male stars of Bollywood performing during the opening ceremony of WPL 2024 in Bengaluru.
Last Updated: 01.39 AM, Mar 10, 2024
B-town diva Malaika Arora has expressed disappointment on the gender stereotypes and patriarchy in society. During a recent conversation, Malaika revealed that she was shocked to witness only male stars of Bollywood performing during the opening ceremony of WPL 2024 in Bengaluru. Manisha Koirala also dropped surprising anecdotes about the prevailing female stereotypes and discrimination in various fields.
WPL 2024 ceremony
Several actors and media personalities shared their opinions on gender bias and stereotypes while disclosing numerous anecdotes to showcase the prevalent misogyny. In a recent group discussion where talented women from all walks of life participated, Malaika Arora and Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi expressed shock at the WPL’s opening ceremony, where only male artists were invited to perform and represent teams.
On the special occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8, actors like Malaika Arora, Manisha Koirala, Rupali Ganguly, and Sushant Divgikar, along with other notable female figures, participated in the insightful round table discussion of Pinkvilla.
Male domination and patriarchy
The Women's Premier League, or WPL 2024, became a hot topic of discussion when the round table participants noticed the male-dominated space and patriarchy. Malaika also conveyed her surprise as she said, “I was shocked by it.”
For the uninitiated, WPL 2024 kicked-started on February 23 and will end on March 17. The second season of the cricket league commenced with a star-studded opening ceremony where several actors spread their magic with mesmerizing performances. Shahid Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, and Tiger Shroff grooved to the beats of hit songs and also represented various teams at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. However, what’s surprising is that no female artists were given this opportunity.
When women makeup artists were not allowed...
In the same conversation, both Malaika Arora and Manisha Koirala opened up about upsetting discrimination between hair and makeup artists based on gender. The Heeramandi actress recalled incidents when female artists were told to do only hair while makeup was done by male artists. Manisha then broke the stereotype when she insisted on having a female makeup artist to shatter the bizarre rules of the industry.
Malaika then recalled another such incident and backed up Manisha by sharing how female artists would fear that they would be caught and degraded if they chose makeup.
“I remember that. If you had a female makeup artist, they (the association) would do these surprise checks. They would come and take away your card, and these poor women would just suddenly start masquerading around with a comb or a tong, pretending that they were doing and not makeup. It was just bizarre, but eventually, with time, someone had to break that to take things forward.”