Bollywood actor and writer Ashutosh Rana on Thursday spoke about the role of women in society, saying that they represent stability. He was addressing the Shevolution event organized by The Times of India.
“Women are the symbol of stability, and I personally also believe that if you have a confident woman then she will be like the harbour in any storm in your life,” Rana said.
He also spoke about the difference between men and women in terms of perception. “Purush ke paas drishti hoti hai, lekin stree ke paas antardrishti hoti hai (Men generally are possessed with vision [or sight] while women are equipped with insights),” he said.

Rana clarified that men and women are not in competition but complement each other. “They (men and women) are not competitors of each other but are complimentary to each other that is why Mahadev (Lord Shiva) portrayed himself as Ardhnarishwar (lord who is a half woman),” he said, adding, “there’s a difference between being Kinnar (transgender) and Ardhnarishwar. While transgender is neither purush (male) nor stree (female). Ardhnarishwar means that he is both male and female.”
Ardhanarishvara is a form of Shiva that combines both masculine and feminine energies, depicted as half-male and half-female.
He also shared his views on why Earth is the only planet that sustains life. “All the planets in the world (Milky Way galaxy) are masculine but there’s only one planet which is feminine and that is our planet Earth. Because this (Earth) is the only planet which has life in it,” he said.
Organisedby TOI in association with GL Bajaj Educational Institutions, Shevolution took place on March 20 in Greater Noida. The event was organised to honour women across diverse fields who are breaking barriers and redefining success.