MUMBAI: Playback singer Sona Mohapatra, who has crooned hit numbers such as 'Bedardi Raja', 'Ambarsariya' and 'Rangabati', has addressed a lengthy tweet to Parag Agrawal, CEO of the microblogging site, slamming the practice of not inviting women as headliners for cultural events at her alma mater IIT Bombay.
In her tweet, Sona wrote, "Dear @paraga, Ur alma-mater has for decades, mostly never hosted women as headliners in their cultural festival. IITB alumni, even CEOs slammed me on FB for writing this letter."
Sona urged Agrawal to watch her film 'Shut Up Sona' to get a glimpse of what female artists have to go through to get equal respect, representation, and remuneration.
She added: "I hope U watch my film #ShutUpSona to see what our reality as female artists in the 21st century is. Love & Light." She also attached screenshots of her viral open letter on Facebook.
The tweet serves as a reminder of what even the most successful women have to face when they come up against systemic sexism.
'Shut Up Sona' is streaming on Zee5 and Zee 5 Global.