Why Deepika Padukone's new video 'My Choice' just doesn't make the cut

The world has never been kind to celebrities, and it was the same when Deepika Padukone's new video 'My Choice' went viral, earning over 2 million hits in a couple of days since it was shared on social media by a popular fashion magazine. Witihn minutes, the net exploded. "So, the Deepika Padukone VOGUE video isn't something I agree with. Superficial, bland, and just in time to jump on the feminism bandwagon," said one tweet, about the actress' attempt to make people think differently.

####Directed by filmmaker Homi Adajania, the video shows varied aspect of Deepika – fierce, beautiful, proud and independent – to put across the message of women empowerment. But has it really managed to create an impact it was expected to? Not really, it seems.

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The ‘pertinent’ (as Amitabh Bachchan had referred to on social media) film puts forth the need to change the “caged” mindset of men about women.

The 2-minute long video, which also features Nimrat Kaur, Zoya Akhtar and many other popular faces, asks men to not measure a woman’s worth by the clothes she wears, her profession, etc.

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What Deepika argues for is the right to choose – the right to wear what women want, when they want, and how they want. While she explains about these being women’s personal choices, she also urges men to respect them. With ideas like “To be size zero, or size 15. It’s my choice. They don’t have a size for my spirit. They never will,” and “To marry or not to marry. To have sex before marriage, to have sex outside of marriage or not to have sex” , Deepika reiterates the culture of compulsion and the need to go against it.

So while many are appreciating the video, and the choice of celebrity Deepika – who is known for speaking her mind, taking on a national newspaper for its sensational story, discussing the impact of depression sans any qualms and launching a foundation to help those battling it – there are many who just don’t find it convincing.

For Twitter user Suyash Dixit, the much-talked video doesn’t adhere to any of the feminist ethics.

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Sandesh Samant too feels the video failed to change men’s perspective.

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For Priya Saxena, a media professional, the video doesn’t carry much significance. “I feel so because it is done by an actress who is known for endorsing products that are meant for women to stay slim, thereby endorsing the ‘cliched’ opinion about them. So how can we go by what she preaches in the video? Didn’t we see her perform a pole dance in ‘Happy New Year’? Didn’t her song ‘Lovely’ objectify women? I would have found the video more convincing had it used someone more powerful. Someone like Mary Kom.”

For MBA aspirant Ritu Ahuja, the video is too elite and urban to be significant for the ‘real’ India. “Why do we think about the need of women empowerment in cities? What about the rural areas? That’s where the impact should be seen. Don’t see this video making the impact it hopes for,” she says.

Whether you agree or not with what the video preaches is your choice, but we leave you with what Twitterati have to say:

I guess #DeepikaPadukone is making Ranbir Kapoor less guilty of his infidelity through her video #MyChoice