Women’s Day hasn’t reached rural India, points out Prajakta Mali

Prajakta Mali doesn’t mince words when it comes to her views on Women’s Day. Asked how important the day is for her, she said, “To tell you the truth, it has no importance [for me] and I don’t celebrate it either. I genuinely feel that there is this need to tell everyone that one has to give importance to women and celebrate them, which is sad. We should reach a day where we realize that we don’t need one special day.”

She was speaking at a recent Women’s Day event organized by Planet Marathi. 

Mali highlighted the urban and rural divide when it comes to celebrating the occasion. “Women’s Day is only celebrated in cities. Women from villages wouldn’t even know about it, though they are more in need of this day. They need to be educated since this day hasn’t reached them,” she said. 

The actress, who will be seen next in Pawankhind and Luck Down, said that respect means everything to her. “Generally, 365 days a year, I never lower the benchmark for which others should treat me. I don’t tolerate injustice. I always see to it that women around me don't face injustice, and receive respect and dignity,” she said. 

Mali is one of the most widely followed actresses from Marathi cinema on Instagram with 1.5 million followers. She, however, doesn’t believe in getting carried away when it comes to social media. “Sometimes I feel all of this is fake. Sometimes I wonder if Instagram will shut down and all the time we invested in it will go to waste. The virtual world isn’t real. As I am an actress, it is a part of my work to share posts. So, I do it out of necessity. I don’t get carried away by it and I feel others should also not,” she said. 

She added, “You don’t post what you are actually feeling on a particular day. I put up a post and then I disappear after 15 minutes. Neither do I read the comments nor do I see others’ posts. If you spend your time looking at other people’s lives, when will you live your own life?” 

Talking about the quotes she shares with her pictures, Mali added, “Sometimes I feel happy to see the increase in followers but sometimes I feel people spend so much time here. So what I do is, I put an inspiring quote which makes them feel good about themselves.”