We know Vidya Malavade as an actress and fitness expert. But many still remember her for essaying Vidya Sharma in the Shah Rukh Khan starter sports drama, Chak De! India. In conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the Bollywood star got candid and recalled fond memories of this Yash Raj Films' production. She went on to share not just anecdotes from the experience of working with her costars but also the steps that were taken by the production house to ensure that the female cast was comfortable every month during the shoots.
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Different women have different thresholds for period pain resistance. But the common ground for most women lies in the discomfort it can bring to carry out even basic daily chores. For these 16 women, it was a highly active physical commitment for months of shooting that was a cause of concern for the producers. To this, Vidya had this to say, "I think I have to give this to Yash Raj because there could have been a lot of chaos, we were 16 girls, not easy to handle us. There was detailing to the point where they had one aunty for us who knew when our periods would come. So there was that kind of detailing, where we could not maybe do the shots of running around in the field, where one could get a breather because they are on their period and they could do something else.”
The actress concluded by saying that most of the sixteen girls had never been on a film set before but YRF and Shah Rukh Khan made it a comfortable atmosphere for them.
Period talks are still considered a hush-hush topic in today's age. Bollywood's small but significant efforts in ensuring their female cast never have to sacrifice their performative art at the cost of discomfort speak volumes. Last year Lust Stories 2 star, Amruta Subhash revealed how Anurag Kashyap checked with her about her periods before they had to shoot an intimate scene for Sacred Games 2. Calling the filmmaker "extremely sensitive", the actress said, “I did my first sex scene with Anurag in Sacred Games 2. There was no question about being a man or a woman. He was extremely sensitive. He called the direction team. He was the one who asked me the question, what are your period dates, so they don't schedule the sex scenes around that.
Bollywood's small step towards recognising and normalising periods in the industry in today's age is a giant leap for humanity
CommentsAlso Read: Taapsee Pannu On Period Positivity And Why Period Trackers Are A Women's Must-Have.
