Music To Gender Bias, Sona Mohapatra Gets Candid On Everything She Has Deployed Her Fearless Voice To

In the age of woke millennials where staying silent is considered a cowardly act, Sona Mohapatra has never shied away from speaking her mind. She is one of the celebrities who has never taken the diplomacy route. She would call a spade a spade and stand by it until her last breath, even when the world is against her.?

She doesn’t live her life in fear. She is a free woman who is not scared of anyone, not even the magnificent phenomenon that Salman Khan is. She once had gone against the superstar who has a history of playing havoc with the lives and careers of those who he does not see eye to eye with.?

‘I am too hardworking and too talented. I don’t think anyone (Salman Khan) can ruin my career’

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Was Sona ever scared of Salman Khan? She laughs off as she answers, “No, not at all. I am too hardworking and too talented. I don’t think anyone can ruin my career.”

“I am a woman who believes Bekhauff Azaad hai jeena mujhe,” she quotes a line from her song Bekhauff to add to her answer. “If we get scared and hide ourselves under the bed fearing that somebody’s going to put us out of work, what kind of world are we living in?” she asks.?

“If two people are not going to work with me, there are twenty who will work with me. So, that’s the way to look at it,” she says and adds she doesn’t believe in the concept of ‘looking for work’ and instead, she believes in creating opportunities for herself.?

Sona is not dependent on Bollywood for work.?

“I don’t count on Bollywood for my bread and butter.I have made an independent journey of my own and I am very proud of myself.”

So, when Bollywood didn’t give her work, she produced a movie about herself. “Opportunities for female artists were drying up. I had a hit song Ambarsariya, but what after that? I could either sit there, complain and wait for people to give me work, or create opportunities for myself. It was time for me to do the latter. I called up my close friend Deepti who is a cinematographer. I told her I want to make a love letter to India, my country which is very uncomfortable with my emancipation.”

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Shut Up Sona is now winning praises and accolades. Directed by Deepti Gupta, the documentary film is a tongue-in-cheek take at the feisty female singer’s unrelenting fight for equal space in modern day India.

The film got a standing ovation at the MAMI festival. It was also awarded with Impacr Docu Award in the US. When asked if she expected such a response, Sona said that she isn’t a modest person who would say “no”.?

“I worked bloody hard for it, and I believe when you work hard, you get the reward. I knew even if 500 people would watch this film, it would cast some sort of impact on them. I am over the moon now.”

For many, Sona is bold and beautiful, but some people on the other hand have tagged her as “disobedient”, “a difficult woman”, “troublemaker” and what not!? “These tags are given by people who are intimidated by me. There are a lot of people who love me, so I concentrate on that.”

She might come across as a person who keeps ranting on Twitter, but five minutes into the conversation with her, you would realise she is full of positivity that it’s inspiring.?

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She enjoys what she does. She says she is not only a singer, but she is a traveller and sometimes a writer too. She has varied interests, and they’re all a part of her personality. They all make her what she is. So she “married all her interests” and made a touring documentary on herself. “A film is a very powerful medium where there’s music, there’s travel, you can express your politics. So in my case it’s gender politics.

“Twitter is a tiny part of my world. Negativity there gets amplified. I do a lot of happy things on Twitter but that never gains limelight. Positive stories don’t catch people’s fancy, it seems.”

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Sona almost fought a solo battle against Anu Malik, the music composer who was accused of misconduct by several women including Sona herself during the #MeToo movement last year. From raising her voice on Twitter to writing a letter to Smriti Irani, Sona did everything she could to get the alleged sexual predator removed as the judge of a popular singing reality TV show, Indian Idol. She called it a victory when he was kicked out of the show finally. But did she ever feel like she had fought a long battle just because she is a woman??

She says, “It is not as if the public outcry didn’t work against Anu Malik. He got kicked out. Things don’t happen overnight. Life is not a movie scene. Things are changing, and chance takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

Does she ever feel sad that most people kept mum during the #MeToo movement, “I have stopped looking for support from my peers. I think my audience and the media has been extremely supportive. I have found a new bunch of friends like Priya Ramani and Rituparna Chatterji who are also fighting the same battle as I am.”

On those who are still keeping mum, she sides with them too. “Everybody takes time to find their strength. Some people do it faster than others. Others take longer. I am nobody to judge them”.

Talking of the A-listers and why they kept mum, she said the industry first of all needs to get rid of the labels like A-listers and B-listers. They are self-created.?

“Would you call Jahnvi Kapoor an A-lister? I mean why, because she is Sridevi’s daughter?”

“I don’t think unless she proves her mettle as an actor, I wouldn't call her an A-lister. I would be great if she spoke up about something and built her own personality, but she is not getting any medal from me until she proves her mettle in her chosen profession.?

Has anything really changed after #MeToo??

“Most organizations and productions are setting up systems to ensure safety. Some make-up artistes have told me when people are hired, they have to fill a form and they are given numbers and email ids to file complaints. These changes are happening because people like us spoke up and fought this battle.

“Priya Ramani is still fighting in the court against MJ Akbar. The sisterhood is standing by. A lot of people have stood up and spoken up. So, it doesn’t really matter if few people in the family want to keep quiet.

“There is a build up of awareness on what’s right and what’s wrong about people’s behaviour. Women are more conscious of their rights. They are more aware of what they should tolerate at workplace and what not.

“A person like Vikas Bahl might get a credit back on Super 30. But I don’t think the industry will allow anybody else to behave the way he has and get away. People are much more conscious of their actions now. All this is great.”

Not all men are sexual harassers, she reminds.

Reminding us of the fact that good people do exist, she said, “We also need to constantly remind ourselves that not all men are idiots or sexual harassers. There are good men too in workplaces. However, a lot of them have kept quiet. It’s time for them to also speak up. We need to be on the right side of history. We are at a point when things are going to change and get better, as per me. The world is becoming a better place. Right now, people will not believe that, because there is so much negativity, especially online.”

Polarisation is the real threat, not coronavirus!

She feels, “More people are going to suffer from anxiety disorder than coronavirus. This anger, angst, hate, anxiety, polarisation, amplification of negative news, is what is going to cause us early death, not any virus.”

She gets so much support from the youth, including men. That’s what keeps her going!

“Men belonging to the younger generation give me hope.” To be honest, they are usually men below the age of 40. Men who have crossed 40 rarely come to boost her morale,” she quips.? “But the young generation reaching out to me to tell me they believe in what I’m doing and they are proud of me. This motivates me more than anything else.”

What inspires Sona Mohapatra to live such a positive life? She says, she is a fan of Mirabai!

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“We have seen images of domesticated, Bhakti-mein-leen Mira sitting in the confines of four walls and singing Bhajans. She was not just that. She was a rebel rockstar! At a time when women were so deeply rooted in patriarchy that they had to and still have to wear Ghunghats, she used to sing and dance on the streets of Mewar, expressing herselves, preaching the love of compassion and equality; she was writing songs on Sati about 450 years ago (in the 16th century), even before it was abolished. She is truly an inspiration.”