Okay! So the disclaimer itself indicates that I am on my own for the next few minutes of my life, all alone in the cold, harsh and unforgiving world of social media. What also weakens my case here is the fact that I am a man, going (read daring) to disagree with a woman in the age of the Internet. And if that woman happens to be one of the most talented & loved actresses of the country, I better start thinking of a life without my balls.

But you know what, we men have earned this! 

There is no denying the fact that men on social media have been pricks, more often than not. And we can’t entirely blame women for generalizing us. But what really concerns me is that, in a bid to make a strong case of feminism, women too tend to speak their minds sometimes a tad bit irresponsibly. 

And a recent Priyanka Chopra statement just showed that:

“If my man cheated, I would probably beat the shit out of him first.”

Whoa! Now just wait, Priyanka! Where did that come from? Why did you have to ruin a great & really inspiring interview for us?

For the uninitiated, here’s the interview we’re talking about. Priyanka, like always, was at her honest best and took questions head on during her recent interview with Filmfare. The Quantico star bared her heart on issues like love, marriage, kids & wait-for-it, infidelity! And that’s what got me so interested!

Priyanka made a few very valid and impressive points:

“I don’t need a guy for anything else except for children.”

“I buy my own diamonds. When a guy comes into my life it will not be for diamonds.”

“Infidelity in relationships should never be accepted.”

But when asked about her own life, Priyanka dropped the bomb!

“I am the kind of person who would get violent. If my man cheated, I would probably beat the shit out of him first.”

Even before I begin reacting to it, let’s just try and play a little game. Let’s try and put Ranveer Singh in the same equation:

SICK! Let’s try and see if Shah Rukh Khan can pull this one off with his infamous wit and humour!

Aww shite! This still remains such a horrible, patriarchal, misogynist & chauvinistic statement to make! And I, a man, am attesting to it!

Now let’s see how women are reacting to Priyanka’s statement:

And then somebody actually said THIS!

And it suddenly struck me! Priyanka actually never meant all of that. She said what she said in jest. In fact, a female colleague actually pointed out that this is exactly how girls have those hasty, drunk conversations with their girlfriends and say whatever the fuck about beating people up without thinking.

Which proves that this is a case of a very (read very) poor choice of words!

One of the reasons for Priyanka Chopra’s enigmatic personality is the fact she’s a headstrong and fiercely independent woman who juggles multiple careers. She’s multi-talented and no way does she need a man in her life to be happy and successful. So far so good. 

The problem arises when the most marketable face of feminism falls short on the understanding of the concept.

I am not ready to believe that a responsible and socially aware person like Priyanka doesn’t know that feminism stands for equality among genders and not bashing one of the two. I am not ready to believe she would deliberately try and misguide the impressionable age groups about the whole idea of gender equality. I am not ready to believe that she would actually chop the balls/ovaries of her partner if she’s cheated upon. 

Yes, no woman should be like Kashi baai, the helpless and docile character Priyanka played in her recent release, Bajirao Mastani. And there is absolutely no reason to take shit from anyone, irrespective of gender. But if violence would have been the only option, half the world would be dead anyway.

Some of you may even feel I am nitpicking or blowing her statement out of proportion.

But you cross your heart and think, how many male actors would have made it out of their homes if they said anything of the sort in an interview? None!

All said and done, I am a Priyanka Chopra fan and will always be one. You know why? 

Because we all should learn to forgive & forget. And forgiveness, fortunately, doesn’t have a gender. Peace!