There is, of course, the matter of privilege. Both Moitra and Padukone come from upper caste, upper class, Hindu families and have considerable generational privilege to boot. Smoking and drinking among women are associated with a privileged status and thus these women are seen as antithetical to the “common-man” image that film stars and politicians need to maintain in a populous and diverse nation like India. But when it comes to women, class privilege and progressive views or so-called “western” attitudes (smoking, drinking, dating for instance) equals promiscuity. It implies an amoral character, a “vile and disgusting” woman, as the chagrined X user wrote on social media about Moitra. This link between progressive liberal and promiscuity can be observed when it comes to any woman in any profession. Political parties thus like their women to look like servile bahus (daughters-in-law), or masculinised “tom-men”, (in case of unmarried or divorced women). In doing so, they eschew the question of gender bias and gender profiling and create a homogenous role of the “ideal” woman. It’s a role that even an actor cannot pull off for life.