‘Then there was controversy, now every woman dances on the back of the blouse’, ‘Arya 3’ actress Ila Arun spoke on women’s rights – aarya 3 actress ila arun interview career personal life and more

You grew up in Rajasthan, where women were earlier considered inferior. How were you able to become such a domineering and courageous personality during that period?
This is a very long story but the environment of your family plays a big role. My mother has a big role in this. She herself was not educated but she wanted each of her daughters to do at least BA-MA and stand on their own feet. She was from a middle class family at that time. She did not want anyone to do love marriage or climb walls, she did not like drama and acting at all, which we did but she wanted our girls to have self-respect and recognize their importance. That makes a big difference. It was he who gave this perspective. This thinking also made us capable of providing some support in increasing the mental consciousness of the women of our backward areas. The atmosphere in our house was a bit good, no one was ever suppressed there.

There has also been a stereotype that a singer is the one whose voice is sweet and thin, how did you break that notion?
Even our mother used to say this. My elder sister had a very thin voice, so she liked her singing and used to tell me not to make noise in my head. When I used to sing folk songs loudly by banging the table, she used to say not to sing so loudly. The personality of girls is considered to be such that they should not be very polite. Harmonious, thin, delicate, which was not in me but this newness made me Ila Arun. Times change, newness is also appreciated.

We have been seeing in TV shows that the enemy of the heroine is also a woman. Now in Arya also you are increasing the problems of Arya. Even though you could understand him?
As far as the show is concerned, if my character Nalini had met Arya in a different situation, if she had not been breaking into my house, things could have been different. I could also be her helper but when she makes a dent then it will definitely be a matter of collision. Not all women are bad]But the situation you are in and where the initiative comes from is also important and those reasons are shown well in the script. Nalini has a lot of ancestral wealth and ambition. Something has happened to her too that she doesn’t want to lose anymore.

There has been a common saying that woman is the enemy of woman. How much do you agree or disagree with this?
According to me, women are both enemies and idiots. Women should not have earwax. Men don’t become deaf early, women do. While women are intelligent and powerful, they also do such stupid things that they jump into things without thinking. A wise man thinks, measures and weighs what is the reason. God has instilled the element of sensitivity in a woman so well that she is both a mother and a wife. When you can be a good mother, a good wife, then why do you fail elsewhere, because there you become useless. I have no hesitation in saying that men are better than us in this matter. You can’t trick him that easily.

During the nineties, you sang a song like Choli Ke Peeche, which was quite controversial at that time and was also considered vulgar. What was your reaction then and what was the reaction of the people around you?
The reaction of the people around was more, but not mine. I have been singing folk songs. I have repeatedly said that here in the North, there are very funny folk songs, about brother-in-law, sister-in-law, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law. There are times where you can joke freely, so it wasn’t a big deal. It was just one line and it was very well written by Anand Bakshi. He also answers her in the next line that Choli mein dil hai mera. When I was asked to sing, everyone wanted to see what my reaction would be, but I am an actor. This is also a song for me. Then you understand the situation. Some songs are of cabaret, some of brothel, some of patriotism, some of mother’s, so one has to sing as per the situation. Then, the song was very successful. Now every woman dances on it. Nobody cares. I have even done such shows where women have asked me to sing the same song and danced freely there. On that, in the film line it is said that if there is a controversy then consider that you are a hit.

Two seasons of ‘Arya’ have arrived. What made you say yes to the third season?
There were many reasons. First is the success of Arya. People embraced both the seasons of Arya with both hands. There is a bigger reason than that, Sushmita Sen, I always praise her. She is a very good friend of mine because we have already worked together in Kalpana Lajmi’s film Chingari. Another big reason was director Ram Madhvani. Whatever work they do, they do it with great dedication. I always wanted to work with him but was not getting the opportunity. It had a Rajasthan background so I had to play on my own land, so all these things became the reason for doing the show.