I watched a portion of Bollywood movie
Luck by Chance. What shocked me is the matter-of-fact way in which movie showed most characters consume alcohol almost in every evening/night setting. Even more surprising is women guzzling alcohol like water. Is this really the current state of Indian society? It appeared to me that the movie was mimicking western society and doesn't really depict true picture. To my rude awakening, I could be wrong.
As per
H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Indian scriptures always advocated gender equality. In fact, women were given slightly higher stature than men.
However, gender equality was proposed in good things: all round education, job opportunities, equal stature & respect in society. I don't think it meant, equal opportunity to consume alcohol, smoke or such things.
IMO, women is the strength of the society. Their strong will and high moral standards define the direction that society takes. And similar idea applies at an individual family level too. Of course, men also have a significant role to play, but the role of a woman is very very crucial.
Media, especially movies, has a high responsibility in India. Main source of entertainment is movies. I hope movie industry is aware of this duty and recognize how carefully they need to present their story. Otherwise, gullible youth can assume what's presented in movies is the norm or worst, its the latest fad.
At the risk of sounding pedantic, alcohol is a menace to individual & society, regardless of who consumes it. Without a statistic backing, one claim I make is that the perpetrator of every violent/heinous crime is intoxicated (alcohol, drugs or whatever). IMO, it is impossible for an individual to violently (or fatally) harm another in full consciousness. I hope what I watched in that movie is untrue and if not, there's lot of work to be done in society to reverse this habit.