MUMBAI: Filmmaker Homi Adajania and actress Deepika Padukone pledged for #VogueEmpower and launched “My Choice,” a powerful short film on women’s right to equality Mar. 28.
As part of a #VogueEmpower initiative by women’s magazine Vogue India, Padukone and Adajania have collaborated to make this short Public Service Announcement film, which talks about a woman’s right to make the decisions that govern her life, and was launched through a special screening at JSW Center, Mumbai.
#VogueEmpower is a social awareness initiative dedicated to women empowerment and launched by Vogue India last year. Editor Priya Tanna says, “This film holds a mirror to what women feel, think and want to express. In its approach and voice, it is fundamentally an anthem for women who want to live life on their own terms and pursue their own sun.
“It is both touching and thought-provoking. This is the third video in our series of #VogueEmpower films, and it features 99 women across age, demographics and professions to come together as a unified voice and representatives for their gender.”
Directed by Adajania and produced by JSW Group and Sangita Jindal, “My Choice” is written by Kersi Khambatta and shot by Tassaduq Hussain. Padukone, who has also contributed to the words and visual concept, lends her voice as an integral part of the film. The music has been composed by French composer Matthias Duplessy (“Finding Fanny”) using a Mongolian throat singing technique along with acoustic percussion instruments.
Adajania commented, “Gender equality should not be a privilege really — it’s a basic right. Inequality is a pathetic and manipulative injustice that needs to be fixed at every level. This film is an expression to just accept and be aware of this fact.
“Fighting for women’s empowerment is an initiative that needs to be a continuous endeavor. There’s no quick fix, and this is where I appreciate Vogue’s intent to make the initiative a sustained effort.”
Added Padukone, “The film is a pledge I made to support the #VogueEmpower initiative. I’m glad that I was one of the few chosen to be a part of Homi’s vision.”
Jindal stated that women today are excelling in every sphere and are at the forefront in many fields. “We, as women, have a unique capacity to understand life and steer the lives of our families, children and at the workplace with both intuition and guts. I am sure this film will go a long way in raising awareness around women’s empowerment.”
The aim of the #VogueEmpower initiative, launched with the seventh anniversary issue of Vogue India, is to encourage people to think, talk and act in ways big or small on issues pertaining to women empowerment. The message is simple: It Starts With You.
Awareness was raised through the magazine, social media, digital and multimedia platforms and offline activities. The initiative has seen a huge number of high-profile pledge-makers, who have agreed to be ambassadors of change. It has already garnered attention within the country and across the shores and was recently awarded the Media Title of the Year at the Women’s Empowerment (WE) Journalism Awards 2015 in Hong Kong.