There’s Certain Insensitivity in the Country: Kajol

Jaipur, Jan 23 (IANS) Building on filmmaker Karan Johar's remarks on insensitivity, actress Kajol said on Saturday India was turning oversensitive on certain issues.

"I do believe that there is certain insensitivity in our country now. We are turning oversensitive on certain issues. Words are being measured. We need to watch what we say on what context," Kajol said on the sidelines of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF).

The actor was speaking to the media after the release of Ashwin Sanghi's book, "The Sialkot Saga", which deals with the sub-continent's partition in 1947.

"As public personalities, our duty is to speak well and intelligently," she added.

The comments came a day after Johar's remarks on intolerance. Speaking at the JLF, Johar said that democracy is the biggest "joke in the country" and he has become an FIR king,

Johar's comments sparked a debate, with the Congress Aand other parties jumping into the fray in his support.

Turning to other issues, Kajol, an avid reader, said it was her mother Tanuja who introduced her to books. "There are three rooms in our house which are full of books," she said.

The actor also felt that celebrity endorsements won't help a book to sell. "When I go to a book shop, i don't look at who is selling the book. That's not the criteria for a book to sell," she felt.

Her only condition when boyfriend and now husband Ajay Devgun proposed, was that he gift her a "Beauty and the Beast"-like library.

"I told him that I will say yes only if you give me a library like the one in the 'Beauty and the Beast' movie. That was what I received as a honeymoon gift," she said.

Talking about women's empowerment, she said it can happen only when women start respecting themselves. "Women's empowerment will happen only when women start respecting themselves. Only a mother can give gender lessons to her children," she said.

Voracious readers are "anti-socials", she said. "When I am immersed in a book, I am unaware of the surroundings."

The actor also ruled out writing a book as it is a solitary job . "I don't think I have the time and patience to write a book," she said.

Kajol's mother, Tanuja Mukherjee, who was also present on the occasion, told IANS that she was overwhelmed by the turnout. "It's my first time at the Jaipur Lit Fest and I am happy to be here. There is so much energy around," Tanuja added.