Jaya Bachchan asks why Indian women are wearing more western clothes: We’ve accepted it gives that ‘manpower’ to a woman

Veteran actor Jaya Bachchan has questioned why Indian women are wearing more western clothes. Speaking on the latest episode, One Crown, Many Shoes of the podcast What The Hell Navya, Jaya posed the question to her daughter Shweta Bachchan and granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda. (Also Read | Amitabh Bachchan says he married Jaya Bachchan because of her long hair)

During the conversation, Jaya asked both Shweta Bachchan and Navya, “Why is it, I want to ask you both, that Indian women are wearing more western clothes?” Navya replied, “I don’t know.” Jaya added, “I’m just asking.”

Shweta responded, “I think it’s because of ease of movement. It’s easier to move around. A lot of women are now just not just at home, they are going out, they are getting jobs. It is easier to pull on a pair of pants and a T-shirt or a shirt than it is to maybe drape a saree.”

Jaya replied, “I feel what has happened is very unknowingly, we’ve accepted that the western clothing is more… it gives that manpower to a woman. I would love to see a woman in a womanpower. I’m not saying go wear a saree that’s just an example but I think in the west also women always dressed in dresses. This whole thing much later in life where they also started also wearing pants.”

Shweta said, “Yes with the industrial revolution and when all the men went to war and women started working in factories. So they had to wear pants because you can’t be doing heavy machine work with…”

Shweta is the daughter of Jaya and actor Amitabh Bachchan. She also has a brother actor Abhishek Bachchan. Jaya will be seen sharing screen space with Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi, Alia Bhatt, and Ranveer Singh in Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. The Karan Johar film will be out in theatres in April next year.