Bollywood women finally learn to fight back

No more skulking in the shadows.

No more staying on the sidelines while you're being discussed in public.

And certainly no more turning the other cheek when your intelligence or physical assets are being questioned.

Welcome to Bollywood's new power girls who just won't take it on the chin and move on.

First Anushka Sharma took on haters who sniggered at her enhanced pout seen on Karan Johar's chat show.

Then Alia Bhatt made a video with All India Bakchod to take on critics who laughed at her lack of general knowledge, also on Karan Johar's show, AIB: Alia Bhatt - Genius of the Year - YouTube. Now Deepika Padukone has decided to shame those inviting people to ogle at her for "cleavage show" - "YES!I am a Woman.I have breasts AND a cleavage! You got a problem!!??". 

About time.

Bollywood heroines are increasingly fighting their own battles, using their direct access to fans to get their point of view across, cutting out the media. What's good is they are getting support from other celebrities as well--Huma Qureshi, who has often called out criticis for questioning her fuller figure, was one of the first to post her comment, even if it was in language that would have the grammar Nazis up in arms. 

More power to @deepikapadukone :-) dats how u shut them upppp

— Huma Qureshi (@humasqureshi) September 14, 2014

The result of all that online support? A new hashtag, #IStandWithDeepika Padukone.

It has helped increase their longevity and allow them to demonstrate their star power.

So if a few years ago the vicious whisper campaign launched around Priyanka Chopra would have destroyed her career, now she can be bolstered by her social media support - all potential viewers of her work, where she can take greater risks. The result, a movie like Mary Kom, where she gives a performance which is all heart.

Of course, social media access has its limits too, as Priyanka's disastrous Reddit Q and A session turned out to be.

Perhaps our girls are also learning from the West. When pictures of several female celebrities were leaked online recently, Kirsten Dunst responded on Twitter with some wit, with a picture of a slice of pizza and a piece of poo: ''Thank you iCloud.''(Kirsten Dunst responds to nude photo scandal with emoji greatness )Mary ELizabeth Winstead was more acerbic: 'To those looking at photos I took with my husband, hope you feel great about yourselves'. Others responded with a mix of official statements and personal messages. ( Lena Dunham, Emma Watson and More Stars React to Nude Photo Hack ) 

Perhaps the best response comes from one of the world's most famous movie stars, Julia Roberts, in the film within the film, Notting Hill (1999), when her fictional movie star, Anna Scott, goes up to a group of guys (one of them our very own Sanjeev Bhaskar) equating actresses with prostitutes, and says to them: "No, leave it. I'm sure you didn't mean any harm, I'm sure it was just friendly banter, I'm sure you guys have d**** the size of peanuts. Enjoy your dinner, the tuna's really good."

It's not easy being a female celebrity today, especially a show business celebrity, where your assets are always up for national debate - anyone who has read the long articles about Beyonce's posterior or Kate Upton's breasts knows that. The female form is seen as fair game, whichever culture you're in. And though it may be a professional hazard it's good to see that well known women have decided to take it personally.