Ayesha Takia condemns dress code discrimination citing Bengaluru mall incident

Mumbai: Actress Ayesha Takia lashed out on Friday against the discrimination faced by a farmer in Bengaluru, who was denied entry to a mall for wearing a dhoti, calling the incident "upsetting and shameful."

Ayesha, who has 1.7 million followers on Instagram, shared a viral video showing an elderly farmer, Fakirappa, being denied entry to GT World Mall on Magadi Road in Bengaluru because of his traditional attire.

Fakirappa was wearing a dhoti.

In the caption, the actress wrote: "This is so upsetting... Does western attire have more respect and value? Do we blatantly disrespect and shun our own people for wearing clothing that belongs to us, to our very own people? In a diverse, cultural nation, deeply rooted in wonderful traditions, we discriminate against our very own... Shameful."

After the incident, which happened on July 16, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike sealed the mall over non-payment of tax arrears and issued a notice seeking clarification about the farmer's incident.

The mall management was asked to submit a statement regarding the incident within 24 hours.

For the unversed, Fakirappa, who was accompanied by his son Nagaraj and wife Mallamma, was denied entry to the mall when they went to watch a Kannada movie, citing his attire.

The incident sparked outrage among netizens as the video went viral on social media.

The mall management has since issued an apology, and the security guard involved also apologised for the incident.

On the work front, Ayesha made her debut in 2004 with the action thriller 'Taarzan: The Wonder Car'.

The actress has appeared in movies like 'Wanted', 'Dil Maange More!!!', 'Socha Na Tha', 'Shaadi Se Pehle', 'Salaam-E-Ishq', 'Cash', 'De Taali', and 'Mod'.

She is married to restaurateur Farhan Azmi, son of Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi. The couple has a son.