Azmi said she couldn’t have missed the show that had been organised by Mijwan, an NGO that she supports. PHOTO: FILE
Bollywood celebrities, including Anil Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar, who were present on the second day of the ongoing International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), skipped voting in the 2014 Indian general elections that was scheduled on the same date in Mumbai.
The stars regretted not exercising their right to vote, but said they had committed to the show six months back when the dates of the elections had not been announced. “I have always endorsed voting and standing up for your rights. But I had committed to attending IIFA months in advance when the election dates weren’t even announced,” said Azmi.
“I support an NGO Mijwan, which works for the welfare of female children. Manish Malhotra and Mijwan have worked hard to put up a show. I couldn’t have let them down,” explained Azmi, referring to the Mijwan fashion show scheduled for the event’s second day.
“It is terrible, but we had made this commitment for Mijwan much before in advance. Mijwan is not a personal commitment; it is about so many women and girls in villages, who will get the benefit. We had a choice that both of us vote and stay back, which is a precious right, or [be a part of the cause].
“[We not attending the event] would have been disappointing for so many poor girls and women because they are thinking this show will benefit them. It was a bad choice either way,” said Azmi’s husband and poet-lyricist Akhtar.
Kapoor, who also missed voting, said: “It is very unfortunate. But this commitment was made much, much earlier. All over the world, people have their commitments, which are made a year in advance. “Today, people can do e-voting. There are Indian embassies everywhere, so this could work well for all. We can go there and vote and that is the best way. I think we must make that kind of a system.”
Versatile actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is also attending IIFA 2014, admitted that it is wrong not to vote. “I have not been able to vote as I am here... I know it’s wrong not to vote. I am not supporting any particular party, but I hope whichever party comes to power takes care of people instead of getting into blame politics.”
Actor Priyanka Chopra is also one of the stars who couldn’t make it to the polling booth as she was busy with her prior work commitments. “So unfortunate when scheduling keeps you away from some of the most important things. Wish I could have been in India to exercise my most basic right to vote as a citizen. Kudos to all who did,” she tweeted on Thursday when Mumbai went to poll.
Reportedly, actors Farhan Akhtar, Sonakshi Sinha and Deepika Padukone have decided to vote before they come for IIFA.
IIFA, which began on April 23 and will go on till April 26, will see performances by many celebrities, including Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sonakshi Sinha, among others. The IIFA Awards will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2014.
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