Vidya Balan revealed something which shocked everyone in an interview with Filmfare but still brought into light the real existing situation in film industry. She also described that during the 2008 film Kismat Konnection she was told to appear younger than fellow actor Shahid Kapoor. The instructions were compact and to the point: she needed to lose weight in order to be even younger than the actor, whom she is two years younger than.
This statement reflects serious pressure on women performers to meet some beauty norms, usually irrespective of their age or talent. Vidya is very honest and it gives a little peek inside into the expectations and the occasionally unreasonable demands the people in show business may have on the women. Her experience reveals one of the most widespread problems that a lot of people have to deal with during their professional lives.
Unrealistic Beauty Standards
The case of Vidya Balan in the Kismat Konnection shows a cruel reality of false beauty ideals of the entertainment industry. She was judged based on physical appearance and she was expected to conform to a certain image by tampering with her body, although her talent is undoubted as well as her acting skills. This is a struggle that most actresses undergo whereby their value is measured against their sizes, age and appearance as opposed to their acting.
Vidya is not a stranger to advocating body positivity and has written about her own battle with body image, but this revelation comes to show how such pressures may also be present within the industry itself. This pressure to be younger than a male actor, despite a small age disparity, is an indication of an underlying prejudice toward female actors going through the process of aging.
The Body Positivity Movement
Although the anecdote of Vidya Balan is more than ten years old, her story acts as a strong footnote to reflect on how much the discourse of body image in the Bollywood industry has changed. In the modern era more actors are coming forward with the call to end body-shaming and being natural to themselves. Artists have a platform to subvert those norms by exploiting the rise of social media which allows them to directly reach their audience and help to create a more inclusive and accepting environment.
Vidya herself has been an eminent supporter of this movement and has always picked a role, which idolizes the woman in her every form. The transformation story of how she went to be told to lose weight to becoming a figure of self-love, is a witness of her grit and the gradually shifting cinema industry. Her tale inspires artists of a future generation to think about their own health and integrity before their looks conform to antique beauty ideals.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
