Natasa-Hardik divorce drama follows same old script—blame the woman, call her gold-digger
Everyone is in a tizzy over rumours that cricketer Hardik Pandya and model Natasa Stankovic are ready to end their four-year-old marriage. As speculation reaches a fevered pitch, it’s Stankovic’s name being dragged through the mud. Suddenly, she’s the gold digger, the woman who will walk away with 70 per cent of Pandya’s assets.
I’m not shocked. I’m bored. It’s always the women who are blamed or painted as money-grabbing spouses. Nothing has changed. It happened to Malaika Arora when her marriage to Arbaaz Khan ended back in 2017. Even A-lister Karisma Kapoor was not spared after she left Sunjay Kapur. There are many who still blame Sussanne Khan for the split with Hrithik Roshan even though the exes appear to be good friends in the public eye. All these women have careers, fans and followers. But that doesn’t protect them from vicious gossip.
The sad part is that this is not limited to the glitzy and glamorous celebrity world. In India, where marriage is religion, an obsession, women are blamed for divorce. Whenever a marriage ends, people start questioning the woman and her motives—neighbours, relatives, and even so-called friends.
Typical witch-hunt
There’s no confirmation that Stankovic and Pandya are actually heading for a divorce. But people are pointing out plenty of signs. Stankovic had removed Pandya’s surname from her Instagram. She was asked about the divorce by a journalist and she did not say anything. And she was not seen in IPL matches.
The meme factory has gone into overdrive. One suggests that marriage followed by divorce is a good business idea for women looking to get rich quickly. ‘Marry a wealthy man, have kids with him, and divorce him and ask for property’.
It shows the real face of society. People are obsessed with other people’s lives and pass judgements, especially on women.
People have become Sherlock Holmes on their own to investigate the celebrity couple’s marriage. They are saying that Natasa had deleted the pictures on Instagram and that Pandya did not wish his wife on her birthday. These are cheap assumptions, school-level stalking. And that adults are indulging in this is shameful.
This is a typical witch hunt that kicks off when a wealthy man’s marriage is about to end.
And in the Pandya-Stankovic case, we don’t even know if there is actually going to be a divorce. The curiosity of people to know everything about a public figure is not new. Social media has only emboldened this behavior. What is sad is that instead of calling out this public shaming behaviour people are happily participating in it.
In Malaika Arora’s case, she was accused of breaking up her marriage for career advancement and even criticised for her relationship with a younger man, Arjun Kapoor. Karisma Kapoor was accused of not being able to manage her career and personal life. People questioned her parenting skills as well.
Sussanne Khan was also among those who were questioned for asking for a settlement. Society always ends up questioning women, no matter who is responsible. But nobody talks about how men choose to marry younger women. If a relationship between two people ends, then both are equally responsible for it. But in Indian society, women are the villains.
When Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide, Rhea Chakraborty was put on media trial. She was called a witch and whatnot. Nothing was proven but she became a villain in people’s eyes.
TV actor Shweta Tiwari was criticised for both her divorces. People on the internet said she could not handle her marriage.
Society cannot accept the fact that women are taking a stand for themselves and they are not ready to live in toxic marriages anymore like before.
Stankovic and Pandya have drawn a lot of attention in the past too. Pandya got engaged to Stankovic in January 2020, and that’s when their relationship became popular. Even then Stankovic was trolled—many didn’t believe that a fair-skinned model could fall in love with a dark-skinned cricketer.
Stankovic is a Serbian actor and model. She relocated to India to have a career in Bollywood. She is known for her role in the dance number “Aiyo Ji” in Satyagraha (2013).
There is also another rumour making rounds that all this could be a PR stunt to promote Pandya’s image. Whatever it is, the Indian public needs to stop poking their nose in people’s personal lives. Cut them some slack.
Views are personal.