Bollywood's Deepika Padukone at centre of objectification row

A row over the objectification of women has erupted in India after a newspaper drew attention to the cleavage of one of the country's best-known actresses, the former model Deepika Padukone, who then broke ranks to publicly object to her treatment.

The furore started on Twitter on 14 September when the Times of India linked to a video clip showing Padukone at a press conference and making reference to her dress. After Padukone tweeted her anger, the unrepentant newspaper accused her of hypocrisy, says the BBC.

The video shows Padukone at a press conference, wearing an Anarkali Salwar suit cut with a lower neckline than is traditional. It would be considered unremarkable in the West but may have seemed daring in India's more conservative society.

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The clip was shot from a high angle, framed exclusively on the actress's breasts, apparently by a member of the press. The Times's tweet was captioned: "OMG: Deepika Padukone's cleavage show!"

The actress responded by tweeting: "Supposedly India's 'LEADING' newspaper and this is 'NEWS'!!??" She then added: "YES!I am a woman.I have breasts AND a cleavage! You got a problem!!??"

Interviewed on TV, Padukone said she had "felt violated as a woman". Another Bollywood actress, Priyanka Chopra added her support saying Padukone had "taken a stand for all of us". Shah Rukh Khan, the male lead in several Padukone films, said he and others did not have "the guts to do what she has done".

This week, the Times responded in an editorial, written by one of the Indian press's most senior female figures, Priya Gupta, who is managing editor of the Bombay Times, a supplement to the main newspaper.

Accusing Padukone of hypocrisy and of seeking publicity for a new film, Gupta seeks to justify the Times's actions as part of its stance against social conservatism, saying: "We have always campaigned against the moral police."

Gupta adds: "We believe there's no shame in Deepika showing off her body, but does she now want us to first check with her as to which pictures of her - taken at public events - we can or cannot publish?"

Gupta's article is illustrated online with a large picture of Padukone at the press conference where the video was filmed. Her breasts are circled on the image with a dotted red line. An arrow points to them, with the caption 'Famous cleavage'.

The Guardian points out that the dispute has stirred sensitivities in India about violence against women after a series of high-profile rapes and gang-rapes. It says the representation of women in Bollywood movies, has been particularly questioned.

The row has played out in front of a backdrop of a widespread culture that blames victims of attacks for dressing immodestly or being in the wrong place. However, PM Narendra Modi recently asserted that young men are responsible for the attacks they carry out.

He said: "I want to ask parents: when your daughter turns 10 or 12 years old, you ask 'Where are you going? When will you return?'

"[But] do the parents dare to ask their sons 'Where are you going? Who are your friends?' After all, the rapist is also someone's son."