Bollywood salutes freedom on Independence Day

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MUMBAI - From being able to express themselves freely to fighting injustices without let, the country’s freedom has empowered its people in many ways. Joining in the celebration of the myriad meanings of that freedom on the Independence Day Aug 16 will be Bollywood stars like Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Neil Nitin Mukesh.

IANS spoke to a few celebrities from B-town and asked them what exactly independence means to them.

Priyanka Chopra: Independence for me is the fact that I get to live in a great democracy, where I can think what I want, do what I want and this year, I just want to be thankful for that. I strongly feel that being independent is all in your mind. I would urge all women to think that they are free to do what they want and they should pull up their resources, believe in themselves, their family and find the opportunity to do what they can and want to.

Vipul Shah: Independence to me means freedom to live, freedom to express myself and freedom to fight anything that is disturbing the society.

Farah Khan: For me, independence means that I am allowed to live the life I want to, say what I want to and not have the fear that someone can stop me from saying anything that’s in my heart.

Manoj Bajpayee: I think independence is that I am free to think, free to act, free to go anywhere I wish to visit and free to do as I please. It’s the joy of seeing an India for the Indians.

Shefali Shah: The freedom to be myself is what independence means to me. I give freedom to people in my life so that they can follow the path they wish to and I expect the same from them.

Salim Merchant: To be what I am and what I want to be, to be able to make the music that I enjoy, to be able to give a splash of youth to our national anthem, all that is independence to me.

Kailash Kher: One realises the worth of independence when one goes to other countries. You are free there, but not totally independent. You are not independent to voice your opinion, to say what you want to, unlike in your own country where you have the liberty to express yourself through different mediums. From the time India was ruled by Mughals and then the British till today, there has been a massive change. And this change is independence.

Trisha: Independence to me means the freedom to be able to live your life without judgements from anyone. To be able to make your own rules and principles and stick to them. To have the freedom to have an opinion about everything that is going on in the world.

Rituparna Sengupta: Independence is what is in your mind, your thoughts and your behaviour. Real independence comes from our real heroes, from the freedom movement. We are enjoying the fruits of that till today. I think that’s real independence, which came from sheer love for the motherland.

Neil Nitin Mukesh: When it comes to independence, all I can think of is “Ae mere watan ke logon, zara aankh me bhar lo pani”.

Deepika Padukone: We have definitely moved ahead in the last 63 years in every possible field. And even in our own individual freedom. We have achieved a lot for ourselves in terms of independence. I am very proud of our country.

Isha Koppikar: Independence is something which is coveted, but we don’t understand the true meaning of it. After Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi, we have just heard promises and not seen anything. I would want to do something for the country, especially for women in self-defence.

Mugdha Godse: Independence is loving your country.