Stop it: Kanwal Cheema slams 'shallow' comparison to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

A video featuring Kanwal Cheema was circulating on social media a while back. The short clip was from an on-the-spot interview by a reporter asking the entrepreneur about her thoughts on people comparing her to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

In the video, the reporter is heard asking Kanwal, “How does it feel to be compared to Aishwarya Rai?” Kanwal responded with a dismissive facial expression, saying, “I don’t want to answer this question”. After giving her response, Kanwal tried to end the conversation by laughing off the matter. Upon the reporter’s further questioning, Kanwal admitted that she is often compared to the Bollywood superstar but is not fond of the comparison. Now, the entrepreneur has released an official statement on the matter.

"Recently, a video has been circulating where I am being called the Pakistani Aishwarya Rai [Bachchan] or her doppelganger," began Kanwal in a video posted on her Instagram feed. "See, Aishwarya Rai is quite a unique woman, a very accomplished person. It's not fair to her as well to compare her to anybody."

She continued to state, "As far as I am concerned, I came to Pakistan, I started a charity app which brings transparency and simplicity to charity by the name of My Impact Meter. That's what I want to be known for. Not as a copy of someone. I'd rather be the best original version of myself than be a copy of somebody else. What I wear, how I dress up - why do people need to comment on that? The comments women get on their evident beauty or lack thereof - women are reduced down to their looks and I think that is very unfair to them. A woman is much more than her looks."

Adding on, Kanwal said, "I think this is an opportunity to start this conversation. Everybody is unique, everybody has their own identity, and people should not be just compared like that. And even if they are - fine, two people may be similar - they should not be known for that and that [alone] should not be the topic of discussion. Every comment is about that. Some say (Aishwarya) is more beautiful, others are saying [something else]. Please, stop it. This conversation is very shallow and, like I said earlier, a woman is a lot more than what she looks like. Thank you."

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