Exclusive - Sara Khan: The audiences tend to enjoy watching women suffering

Actress Sara Khan, who rose to fame with the show Sapna Babul Kaa... Bidaai, Bollywood projects like M3 - Midsummer Midnight Mumbai, Hamari Adhuri Kahani, says that the portrayal of women on TV will not change. She says that this is because the audience likes to see weak women characters.
“It doesn’t matter how they portray women on screen because, as you know, shows are made based on what the audience wants to see. Unfortunately, audiences tend to enjoy watching women suffering, going through struggles, and being treated unfairly. This trend continues because television shows are created according to viewers’ preferences. If a show with a slightly different concept becomes popular, others immediately copy that idea, and eventually, every story starts moving in the same direction,” she says.
However, talking about how women are treated in the industry, Sara says that there is no discrimination. “I don’t believe there is any real issue for women in this industry. Women today have equal rights, and we are doing everything we want to. In fact, we often get better opportunities than men and are capable of handling multiple responsibilities at the same time. The change I want to see is for women to treat themselves with more respect and stand up for each other. They should not allow themselves to be put down,” she says.
She adds, “I believe that if a mother teaches her son how to treat women with respect, there will be no complications in society. I also don’t think social media alone defines the progress of women, women and men are excelling in every field today.”
Ask her who she looks up to, and she says, "The only woman I look up to is my mother. She did an incredible job nurturing me and always made sure to support whatever I wanted to do in life. She guided me, helped me in every possible way, and taught me valuable life lessons. She taught me how to be a good human being, how to treat others, and even how to treat myself with respect. That’s why she is the only woman I admire.”