Ananya Panday Opens Up About Body Shaming and Unrealistic Beauty Standards in Bollywood
Ananya Panday made her Bollywood debut in 2019 with Student of the Year 2, along with Tiger Shroff and Tara Sutaria. Though the film got a lot of criticism, the two debutant actresses – Ananya and Tara – have come a long way in their careers.
Ananya has been praised for her recent performances in films like Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, CTRL, and Kesari Chapter 2. But her journey hasn’t been easy. In a recent podcast with Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh, Ananya spoke openly about how she was badly body shamed after her debut.
Ananya Panday said that when she started acting at the age of 18 or 19, people used to make fun of her for being too skinny. “They called me ‘chicken legs,’ ‘matchstick,’ and said I didn’t have curves. Now that I’m growing older and my body is changing naturally, people say I must have done surgery for my butt or other parts. You just can’t win,” Ananya said.
She also shared how women are judged more than men. “People always have something to say about women’s bodies, but men don’t get the same kind of comments. It’s mostly women who are targeted this way,” she added.
Ananya also blamed Bollywood, including herself, for showing unrealistic beauty standards. She said, “Sometimes in films or songs, we show that girls wake up looking perfect, with hair done and everything in place. That’s not real life. Even we don’t look like that in the morning.”
She admitted that this image can confuse fans and set wrong expectations. That’s why Ananya now tries to show her real self when she is not working or on camera. “We have to talk about these things and let people know the truth,” she said.
Ananya Panday continues to speak up about important issues while working on her upcoming film Chand Mera Dil, in which she stars opposite Kill actor Lakshya.
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