Sonam Kapoor: Ignorance is destroying our country, my father is a staunch feminist

Actress Sonam Kapoor says her father and veteran actor Anil Kapoor is a staunch feminist, who brought up his two daughters and son without any bias.

"Cinema is a beautiful medium, and can be used to inspire change. Ignorance is what is destroying our country. My father is a staunch feminist. I was not brought up any differently than my brother Harsh (Harshvardhan)," Sonam said on Saturday.

The actress portrayed the strong real-life character of Neerja Bhanot, an air hostess who lost her life in her pursuit to save passengers on a hijacked flight.

Sonam, whose sister Rhea is a film producer and whose brother Harshvardhan is awaiting the release of his Bollywood acting debut Mirzya, has often said she found Neerja's tale extremely inspiring. Sonam was in Delhi at NDTV India's Youth for Change conclave to talk on the subject "How aspirational can women really be?" She shared the panel with lyricist, screenwriter and ad guru Prasoon Joshi as well with Arunima Sinha, the first female amputee to climb Mount Everest.

Joshi rued: "It is really sad that we have to speak about women at conclaves like this. It means not everything is well in our society."

Earlier in the day, the team of Pink -- co-producer Shoojit Sircar and actors Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu -- too raised their voice against the notions around women in Indian society and the need to break free from it.

-- IANS