The world of lights, cameras, and action is packed with glamour, dreams, and aspirations, and over the decades, it has shaped a collective imagination of beauty. Though everyone feels pride in saying, ‘Beauty lies in diversity,’ unrealistic beauty standards have often failed to acknowledge and embrace the true meaning of diversity. From promoting fair skin to size-zero bodies, the portrayal of beauty in Indian cinema has often ignored reality.
However, this harsh truth, which no makeup can conceal, has been repeatedly confronted by actresses with courage. The divas of Bollywood have been calling out the industry’s unrealistic beauty ideals and replacing them with conversations on self-worth, individuality, and authenticity.
Vidya Balan: “For the longest time, I hated my body. I thought it had betrayed me.”
Vidya Balan, who is known to do the most versatile and meaty roles, has always been very comfortable in her skin. However, the confident lady you see owning the screen today wasn’t always like this. Though she tried her best not to show it to anyone, the harsh words and the public scrutiny over her weight broke her in more ways than one could imagine.
Speaking about the same in an old interview with ETimes, Vidya shared, “It was very public and at that time it was so insurmountable. I come from a non-film family. There was no one to tell me that these phases don’t last. My weight issue had become a national issue.”
“I have always been a fat girl; I wouldn’t say that I am at a stage where my fluctuating weight doesn’t bother me anymore at all. But I have come a long way. I have had hormonal issues all my life. For the longest time, I hated my body. I thought it had betrayed me. On the days I was under the pressure of looking my best, I would bloat up and I would be so angry and frustrated,” she added.
However, things changed over the years, as she knew power lies in acceptance, and in embracing who one truly is. Power and beauty both come from within, and that’s what became a game changer for Vidya. “Over time, I accepted that my body is the only thing that is keeping me alive because the day my body stops functioning, I am not going to be around. I have a lot of gratitude for my body. It doesn’t matter what I have been through, I am alive because of this body. It’s blood and bones. With each day, I have begun to love and accept myself more, but it hasn’t been easy. You have to fake it till you make it,” said the actress.
“The length of your hair, the thickness of your arms, curves, height don’t matter; what matters is who you are as a person. When you appreciate the person that you are, every imperfection looks small, but it doesn’t strike you when you are loathing and hating yourself. It’s a very precious and tough lesson that I have gone through. I have realised, it is not people judging you but rather how you judge yourself,” she concluded.
Sonam Kapoor: “Aspire to feeling pretty and carefree and happy, without needing to look any specific way.”
Actress and fashion icon Sonam Kapoor once shared a powerful Instagram post, featuring herself with heavy concealer and a raw truth
“I’ve said it before, and I will keep saying it: It takes an army, a lot of money, and an incredible amount of time to make a female celebrity look the way she does when you see her. It isn’t realistic, and it isn’t anything to aspire to. Aspire to confidence. Aspire to feeling pretty and carefree and happy, without needing to look any specific way,” read her caption.
She continued, “And the next time you see a 13-year-old girl gazing wistfully at a blemish-free, shiny-haired Bollywood actress on a magazine cover, bust the myth of flawlessness for her. Tell her how beautiful she is. Praise her smile or her laugh or her mind or her gait. Don't let her grow up believing that she's flawed, or that there's anything she's lacking for looking different from a woman on a billboard. Don’t let her hold herself to a standard that’s too high, even for the women on the billboards.”
Her heartfelt message went viral for its honesty and served as a much-needed reminder that behind every “perfect” image lies a production, not perfection.
Richa Chadha: “I was good-looking only for my mom and dad.”
From being Bholi Punjabi to playing a Sanjay Leela Bhansali heroine, Richa Chadha has explored all shades and tried her hand in every genre. Back in 2017, according to a PTI report, the actress spoke her heart out on the stereotypes and the unrealistic beauty standards of Bollywood.
“For the longest time, for most of the industry, I was not good-looking. I was good-looking only for my mom and dad, because I was dusky, didn’t have a model-like figure,” she said.
Today, Richa stands as a symbol of fearless authenticity. Give her character over glamour, and she will not think twice before saying yes.
Huma Qureshi: “Why was I succumbing to the rules made by society and not feeling beautiful in my own skin?”
Huma Qureshi is one of the artists who tried to break the beauty mold of the industry, not just by her words but by her work. She made the movie ‘Double XL’, which spoke about discrimination based on how a person looks. It showed that no matter how much you say it is really hard for society to not judge a book by its cover.
“The point of me wanting to produce a film like 'Double XL' was to shatter notions of how weight is equated with beauty and desirability. When I was all set to play a femme fatale, why was I succumbing to the rules made by society and not feeling beautiful in my own skin? I have realised that feeling and looking sexy is not because of the clothes you wear or because somebody weighs a certain weight,” said the actress, according to an IANS report.
And if you think that only curvy girls spoke about the unhealthy beauty standards, you are in for a surprise.
Katrina Kaif: "There have been moments where I have felt an obligation to match up to a certain stereotype of beauty."
Despite being hailed as one of Bollywood’s most glamorous stars, Katrina Kaif opened up about the emotional toll beauty standards took on her. In September 2024, while interacting with Huda Kattan spoke about her vulnerable moments, about the times when the diva, who is often considered an equivalent of ‘Barbie’, felt judged.
She said, “There have been moments where I have felt an obligation to match up to a certain stereotype of beauty that on some days, moments, months, or even years, I didn't quite match up. I felt a certain sense of judgment, like I did not deserve to be there if I wasn't looking perfect or looking my best. And that sense of judgement struck an emotional chord with me. That kind of hurt because you don't look your best in a certain month or year, also. And you think that means I don't deserve to be here? Is it just about the physicality?”
The actress, who is known and described as ‘perfect,’ used to feel conscious when she was growing up. She always felt that beauty only comes in one form - the one shown in magazines. She, too, wasn’t immune to the toxic expectations the industry places on women.
However, today, being an owner of a beauty brand herself, she tries to embrace diversity and authenticity.
Are Things Changing in Bollywood?
They say times are changing and evolving, but is that true? Well, with movies ‘Double XL’, ‘Pagglait’, ‘Darlings’, and ‘The Dirty Picture,’ the filmmakers have shown women who step outside the stereotypical glam bubble.
Further, actresses like Bhumi Pednekar, Neha Dhupia, Sanya Malhotra, and Sameera Reddy are embracing their real selves. From stretch marks to gray hair, curves, and more, divas today don’t shy away from showing their real side. Also, it is worth noting that audiences are responding positively to this trend, as they reward celebrities who choose to show their "unfiltered" selves.
Beauty That Goes Beyond the Surface
The journeys of Richa Chadha, Vidya Balan, Katrina Kaif, and several other actresses illustrate a powerful shift in Bollywood. These actresses are no longer just stars — they are trailblazers, tearing down walls of perfectionism and replacing them with honesty, complexity, and strength.
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