Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor recently faced severe backlash on social media for changing her name shortly after her marriage to Delhi-based entrepreneur, Anand Ahuja. Soon after the wedding in Mumbai on May 8, she changed her name to Sonam K Ahuja on Instagram and Twitter. Fans accused her of giving into patriarchy for attaching her husband's name. But no one noticed the fact that Anand himself had also changed his name on Instagram. The couple showed their mutual respect by adopting each other’s name and announcing it subtly. She did this on social media because she believes that it’s a platform to express that she has made a choice.
Sonam Kapoor walked the red carpet at Cannes 2018 in the most dazzling dresses and did not let her marriage change anything about her work and lifestyle. Speaking to media at Cannes, she shut down everyone who questioned her decision and asked us all to go check out the definition of feminism. “I had decided earlier, it is a choice and if people don’t understand feminism, they should go online and check the definition. And, how do you know Anand hasn’t changed his name?” Sonam Kapoor said during the interview.
Anand Ahuja decided to play it fair and live to the true meaning of feminism when he changed his name on Instagram. His Instagram handle now reads ‘Anand S Ahuja’ and people are still not buying it. Sonam went on to speak about feminism and Anand changing his name: “I am a true feminist. I believe in my choice. My husband or his family have not asked me to do anything. I have decided to do it myself. I never asked my husband to do it. He did it himself.” She added that feminism means to have equal opportunity and the choice to do what one wishes to do. Changing her name was a matter of personal choice and she said “Nobody put a gun to my head.”
Sonam K Ahuja will literally not let anything stand in the way of what she does and what she believes in. The couple even postponed their honeymoon because they both had work. In the midst of all this controversy, she managed to turn heads at Cannes Film Festival as she represented L’Oreal Paris India and wore dresses from Ralph & Russo and Vera Wang. Now let’s just wish the couple a happy married life and let them be!