Actress
Deepika
Padukone
'cleavage
news'
controversy
has
been
a
trending
topic
since
quite
long
now
and
it
seems
the
issue
will
take
more
time
to
settle
down.
While,
the
actress
has
been
receiving
much
support
from
her
Bollywood
fraternity,
sections
of
the
media
also
have
taken
side
of
Deepika.
One
of
the
leading
publication,
The
Hindu
has
forwarded
an
open
letter
to
the
other
leading
house
concerned
in
the
entire
episode,
Times
Of
India,
slamming
the
latter
for
its
'unexpected'
attitude
to
the
issue.
The
Hindu
wrote
a
long
open
letter
addressing
Times
Of
India
regarding
Deepika
Padukone
'cleavage
news'
controversy
and
expressed
its
opinion
on
the
entire
issue.
The
letter
goes
like
this...
Dear
Times
of
India,
There
are
times
when
one
should
keep
quiet.
If
most
of
the
online
world
is
lambasting
you,
even
if
you
think
you're
right
it
wouldn't
hurt
to
introspect
a
little
and
wonder
why
people
are
reacting
the
way
they
are.
Your
response
to
Deepika
Padukone's
fuming
tweet
and
post
on
Facebook
against
your
article
on
her,
or
more
specifically
on
her
breasts,
is
both
shocking
and
unexpected.
You
could
have
chosen
to
apologise.
Or
you
could
have
chosen
to
keep
quiet.
But
by
doing
neither
and
by
misunderstanding
the
issue
entirely,
you've
only
dug
yourself
deeper
into
a
hole.
You've
started
your
article
in
Bombay
Times
(‘Dear
Deepika,
our
point
of
view,'
Sept.
21)
saying,
"As
one
of
the
largest
media
houses
in
the
world
with
interests
in
print,
TV,
radio
and
online,
we
approach
each
medium
differently,
as
do
our
audiences.
There
isn't
a
one-fits-all
formula
for
either
distributing
or
consuming
content
across
various
media."
It's
true
that
across
media
houses
each
medium
is
approached
differently
but
editorial
values
and
ethics
remain
the
same.
There
are
still
limits
to
what
can
be
published
online
and
what
cannot.
By
merely
brushing
aside
the
problem
by
stating
that
"the
online
world...
is
chaotic
and
cluttered
-
and
sensational
headlines
are
far
from
uncommon," you're
being
unapologetic
about
your
mistakes.
‘Yes,
perhaps
this
may
not
be
right
but
that's
how
things
are,
so
you
must
get
used
to
it'
is
the
crux
of
your
message.
Indeed
the
online
world
is
chaotic
and
uncluttered
but
that
should
give
you
and
every
other
media
house
more
of
a
reason
to
be
careful
about
the
content
being
posted.
Rather
you
shamelessly
admit
that
you're
choosing
to
objectify
a
woman
and
be
sensational.
It
makes
it
worse
that
you
are
doing
this
-
and
being
unrepentant
about
it
-
at
a
time
when
one
of
the
biggest
problems
that
plagues
this
country
is
its
treatment
of
women.
Sexist
attitudes
manifest
themselves
in
different
forms
-
leering,
passing
offensive
remarks,
gawking
are
all
at
one
end
of
the
continuum,
crimes
against
women
like
rape
are
on
the
other
end.
You
cannot
cry
yourself
hoarse
about
the
extreme
form
while
believing
it
perfectly
alright
to
engage
in
the
more
subtle
ones.
Did
I
hear
you
say
hypocrisy?
You
then
ask:
"Was
Deepika's
hypocrisy
for
publicity?"
Below
the
question
(which
you
really
seem
to
believe
is
not
a
question
but
the
reason
why
the
actor
chose
to
lash
out
at
you),
you've
printed
a
collage
of
photographs
-
photographs
that
show
the
actor's
breasts,
her
cleavage
and
her
legs.
The
point
you're
apparently
trying
to
make
here
is
that
Deepika
is
consciously
flaunting
her
body
for
photo
shoots
and
other
assignments,
so
why
should
she
take
offence
when
you're
so
generously
"complimenting"
her?
No,
TOI,
there
is
a
difference
between
zooming
into
a
woman's
cleavage
and
making
a
story
out
of
it
with
a
headline
that
says
"OMG!
Deepika's
Cleavage
Show"
and
posting
pictures
of
her
that
she
has
posed
for
voluntarily.
The
first
is
a
blatant
invasion
of
privacy;
the
second
is
her
choice.
This
is
the
same
reason
why
Katrina
Kaif
was
furious
earlier
when
pictures
of
her
in
a
bikini
with
Ranbir
Kapoor
in
Spain
were
splashed
across
newspapers.
It
wasn't
the
fact
that
she
was
in
a
bikini
that
angered
her;
it
was
that
the
pictures
were
taken
and
posted
without
her
knowledge
and
permission.
Consent
or
the
lack
of
it
is
the
issue
you're
missing
here.
Deepika's
body
is
her
own
-
she
can
choose
to
do
whatever
she
wants
with
it.
By
focussing
solely
on
her
body
parts
and
commenting
on
them,
you
are
doing
exactly
what
women
fight
against
everyday
-
objectification.
Your
response
to
her
cleavage
is
no
different
from
that
guy
on
the
street
who
whistles
at
a
woman
when
she
walks
by
-
fully
clothed
or
not
-
or
the
man
on
the
bus
who
leers
at
a
woman
when
her
dupatta
slips.
What
is
the
difference,
really?
They
are
zooming
in
with
their
eyes;
you're
zooming
in
with
your
camera.
You
also
justify
your
act
saying
that
men
are
objectified
too.
Shah
Rukh
Khan's
"8
pack"
abs
also
evoke
an
‘OMG!"
response
so
what
difference
is
there,
you
ask.
That
is
not
a
great
defence.
Are
you
seriously
saying
"We
objectify
Shah
Rukh
too...
we
objectify
everyone
really...
so
what's
the
fuss
all
about?"
Is
Deepika
doing
this
for
publicity?
I
don't
know,
but
it
can
be
safe
to
say
that
people
are
asking
you
the
same
question.
You
don't
need
a
censor
board
TOI,
but
yes,
perhaps
a
few
editorial
discussions
before
publishing
such
stories
may
not
be
a
bad
idea.
It
could
save
you
all
this
outrage.
Please
understand
that
apart
from
‘ownership'-
the
treatment
of
a
person
as
an
object
owned
by
another
-
being
a
characteristic
of
objectification,
‘denial
of
subjectivity'
or
the
lack
of
consideration
for
the
person's
feelings
in
question
is
another.
The
subject
being
discussed
here
was
miffed
with
your
post
as
well
as
initial
response
and
made
it
abundantly
clear
that
her
subjectivity
was
denied.
All
you
could
have
done
was
considered
her
response
and
feelings
and
apologised.
Or
really,
just
kept
quiet.
Yours
truly,
Some
peeved
woman
on
a
Sunday
morning.