Apoorva Arora opens up on stereotypes about women and sexism on-set

From being a child actor to doing a film with Diljit Dosanjh, Apoorva Arora has had a fair bit of experience in the film industry. So it makes sense that she knows how women are perceived in the movie business.

In an exclusive conversation with Hook, actor Apoorva Arora, spilled the beans on her experience working in films across languages, how she faced sexism, and gave us insights into the unrealistic portrayal of women in movies.

Apoorva Arora on facing sexism on movie sets

In a conversation with Hook, Apoorva shared how linguistic and cultural barriers sometimes posed challenges during movie shoots. She also revealed facing sexism when her advice was dismissed, only for a male colleague’s similar suggestion to be accepted.

She said, “I would like to share an anecdote that happened on a Telugu set. One of the days, I saw a dead body that was in the scene, and it was wrapped in a white sheet. It had fresh blood stains. According to the script, this person was supposed to be dead for a while. And I went and told them, ‘Bhai, ye blood thoda sa fresh zyada lag raha hai (Bro, this blood looks a little too fresh). It’s supposed to oxidise, it’s supposed to be a little brown, don’t you think?’ They said ‘No, no, no, no. Blood can’t be brown. Blood has to be red only.’ I said ‘Okay, cool.’ And then, a couple of minutes later, the male actor walks in and he says something to them and they immediately change the sheet, and the colour is now brown. Toh maine kaha, ‘Main kya bol rahi thi (So I said, ‘What was I saying then?’)? Main ladki hoon, main har maheene dekhti hoon ye blood ko colour change karta hua (I’m a woman, I se blood change colour every month)!’”

On unrealistic expectations from women

In her interview, Apoorva also went on to explain how the idea of having women look perfect on screen, even when their character is at home doing nothing, is setting up unrealistic expectations for women.

She said, “Even when you do a film where the character is at home, not doing anything, we want our female lead to look her best. Ye saari cheezein humare dimaag mein baithi hui hain ki ‘Ek ladki ko toh presentable lagna, desirable lagna, ye sab zaroori hai varna logon ko woh pasand nahi aayegi’ (These ideas are embedded in our minds that ‘A woman should look presentable and desirable, or people won’t like her’).”

Cinema has long shaped unrealistic beauty ideals, pressuring women to conform to narrow, often unattainable standards. This perpetuates harmful expectations, impacting self-esteem and distorting perceptions of true beauty and diversity.

Not just Apoorva, Ariana Grande shut down sexism too

In an interview with Los Angeles’s Power 106 in 2015, Ariana Grande was asked by DJs Justin Credible and Eric D-Lux a question that can only be termed ‘sexist’.

They asked, “If you could use makeup or your phone one last time, what would you pick?” Grande’s reply was fiery: “Is this men assuming that that’s what girls would have to choose between?”

She further added, “I have a long list of things I’d like to change …I think, judgement in general. Intolerance, meanness, double standards, misogyny, racism, sexism... There’s lots we’ve got to get started on. That’s what we need to focus on. We have got work to do … We’ll start with you, though.”

Isn’t it time society ditched its assumptions about women?