‘The Pregnancy clause not sexist’
While the Bachchans’ fans celebrate Aishwarya Rai’s pregnancy, there are some who are left with a bitter taste. The producers and makers of Madhur Bhandarkar’s magnum opus – Heroine — are upset because the shelving of the movie caused them a loss of Rs 50 crore.
With this controversy arises the ‘no pregnancy clause for women’ in the entertainment industry and even the hospitality industry. Adman Prahlad Kakkar, who is considered a close ally of the former Miss World says, “Ash is the most professional woman I have ever met and she would have had something in mind before she signed the contract for the movie. She wouldn’t string on a filmmaker if she really knew. At this stage of anyone’s career they wouldn’t stake it all by being unprofessional.”
The Indian government has a strict regulation for female stakeholders in the corporate sector and the government sector too. Most organisations permit a six month maternity leave period. However, there’s no such thing in the entertainment industry, despite it being increasingly corporatised.
Karthik Srinivasan, a fashion photographer explains, “The stakes are higher when it comes to Aishwarya Rai compared to runway models. One must understand that crores of rupees are running on her and the makers of a film deserve to know well in advance if the actress is planning a pregnancy.” He adds, “There should be certain regulations and laws in place to check women or for that matter men, who side-step conventions.”
Talking about the pregnancy clauses in the Indian modeling industry. He says, “Yes, international modelling agencies do make models sign such contracts but here things are different. The agency just promotes the model and they get a flat commission out of it. Now, if the model is an asset, they might just add the clause in the contract but most of the time it’s not. If a runway model does get pregnant then automatically she loses all her contracts for a particular period of time but that doesn’t cause million-dollar losses like in the corporate or film world.”
Former air hostess Awa A., says, “The clause is common in international airways but the Indian ones follow the Indian regulations, the hostesses are allowed to fly till the bump is not obvious. I have a feeling that if the clause applies, we might have to sign it too considering the stiff competition we face to look our best and be the face of our carrier.”
Bollywood is an industry in itself. It works like a corporate set-up where millions of dollars flow in and flow out. We have international tie-ups, mergers and acquisitions. So why not a practical regulation on work ethics and disclosure? Do people think it is sexist?
Shabana Azmi feels there is nothing sexist about it. “Insurance companies in Hollywood insist on many clauses including no pregnancy to safeguard huge monetary investments. It’s not sexist,” she recently tweeted.
