No matter how much we’d like to pat our backs and believe that we’re all woke here, there’s always some ‘viral comment’ in the news that will make you want to create a ‘do over’ button for the world. Today’s tone-deaf comment of the day is an article with this headline: ‘Neha Dhupia Shocking Weight Gain Post Pregnancy At Femina Stylista West 2019’.
Now, there are multiple ways to react to something like this, but Dhupia chooses to be graceful while calling out the bodyshamers. She captioned the post saying, “Thank you, next! with a note that said, “I don’t owe anyone an explanation because fatshaming like this doesn’t bother me one bit. But I do want to address this as a larger problem because fatshaming needs to stop for EVERYONE and not just celebs.”
Thank you , next! pic.twitter.com/c3T9bJWN46
— Neha Dhupia (@NehaDhupia) February 2, 2019
We love to routinely question celebrities for their privileged and insensitive ‘quips’, but shouldn’t this episode ideally lead to a bit of quiet introspection. Biology may not be everyone’s strongest suit, but here’s a lesson in common sense that we could try to tattoo into our brains: Each person’s physiology is different and therefore works differently. The Indian media has, way too often, been downright brutal to new moms in Bollywood, setting unrealistic targets for them to get back in shape. Here are a few instances:
1) Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was one of the few people who opened up about being fatshamed for not losing weight at the drop of a hat after giving birth. In an interview to CNN-News18, she said, “Articles have often said that ‘oh! she has had the fairy tale life.’ Yes, I have had a lot of blessings and I’m very grateful for that but my question is, ‘On what basis, do you assume?’ This again brings that down to judgement. Because of the way you choose to look at something, you decide its cakewalk.”
2) Kareena Kapoor Khan
Although Kareena Kapoor Khan lost the weight she gained with an intense workout regime and diets, critics wouldn’t spare the actress their two cents on how she should look. “I was bearing a child. It was obvious that I would put on weight. But I wasn’t [rattled]. I enjoyed my pregnancy. I absolutely loved it. Losing the weight after that was another journey. I remember, sometimes, I’d wear tight pants, and people would tell me, ‘You’ve put on so much weight. You’re thighs are so big.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t care because I’m working on losing it’. Honestly, I’m comfortable in any shape and size,” she told Mid-Day in an interview.
3) Rani Mukherji
Rani Mukherji had kept most of her personal affairs private, especially during her wedding and pregnancy, which meant a free-for-all guesswork party. Mukherji told The Hindu Business Line how as a female actress she was faced a lot of scrutiny not just for her work but how she looked. “Of course male actors also have to work hard but they are never judged for their personal life. We are time and again judged for our personal life and time and again judged for our weight gain and weight loss.”
Word to the wise and to foolish: Mind your own goddamn business.
