Ileana D’Cruz, Suhana Khan, Vidya Balan: Actresses who shut down body-shaming trolls

The concept of body positivity is catching up in India too but there still are instances when body shaming takes place. And it is brutal, especially for celebrities who are constantly in the public eye. However, B-town divas are not the ones to take it lying down. There are numerous instances when they have stood up for themselves and schooled trolls about body positivity using their celebrity status. Take a look...

Vidya Balan not only happily embraces her curves but also flaunts them proudly. The actress has time and again established the fact that she feels comfortable in her skin. Earlier, talking about the same, Vidya had told a news portal that she loves to work out but she is not trying to defy her body structure anymore. The actress added that she has accepted that she can’t change her body type. However, according to her, she can change the way she feels about her body. And most days the actress says she feels absolutely sexy.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been the epitome of beauty and grace in Bollywood. The gorgeous diva had gained some weight when pregnant. Sadly, she was attacked by the body shamers on social media. Although Aishwarya maintained a dignified silence on the issue, her husband Abhishek Bachchan defended her in an interview with a news portal. He said that she’s a public figure, but people forget she’s also a woman and now a mother and there’s a line that’s not to be crossed. According to him, he doesn’t talk that way about any woman ever and it’s obviously not graceful for anyone to talk about her like that either.

She is rightly called the fashionista of Bollywood. Sonam never fails to turn heads with her style and grace. However, she still gets subjected to hurtful comments related to her body on social media. In a candid chat with Arbaaz Khan on his chat show, Sonam had revealed that she was body-shamed for a long time. People would say she has become too thin or too fat or she is too tall. They would often question who will marry her. Sonam said she has learnt to take it all in her stride now and never thinks twice before schooling trolls.

Sonakshi Sinha underwent a stunning physical transformation for her debut Bollywood film, ‘Dabangg’ co-starring Salman Khan. Although now she is perfectly fit and loves to workout, she is often body-shamed. Talking about body shaming, the actress had once said that she has been targeted for being a certain way but she doesn’t let it get to her. According to her, what is more important is to project a healthy body image for girls who look up to her.

From the time she made her big Bollywood debut with ‘Ishaqzaade’, Parineeti Chopra has undergone a drastic physical transformation. However, the actress still gets subjected to hateful comments about her body. The actress feels no one has the right to comment on how people look or how fit they are. She said in an interview that body shaming will soon become a thing of the past. According to her, if one is not comfortable about one’s body, he/she should do something about it. However, if you are comfortable, let it be. She added that other people have no right to comment anyway.

Tara Sutaria leaves her fans swooning over her pictures every time she shares them on social media. However, the actress has not been spared body shaming. She had earlier opened up about body shaming in the film industry. The actress revealed that she was earlier called anorexic by some and when she put on a few extra kilos for her second film 'Marjaavaan', the same people even criticised her for that.

Ileana D’Cruz has been quite open about suffering body dysmorphic disorder. She has gone on record to say that she was also in depression because of it. In one of her interactive sessions with her fans on Instagram, a man had once asked her how she deals with her ‘awkward body type’. Ileana hit back at him by saying, “Firstly, I don’t have an ‘awkward’ body type. Nobody does. Secondly, yes, I have been criticised for my body type. But I am trying to learn to love myself for who I am and not try to conform to someone else’s ideals.”

Suhana Khan is yet to make her big Bollywood debut but she has already learnt to tackle trolls on social media, where she commands quite a fan following. Recently, Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter shared a post where she campaigned against racism on social media with the hashtag #endcolourism. She said, “There’s a lot going on right now and this is one of the issues we need to fix!! this isn’t just about me, it’s about every young girl/boy who has grown up feeling inferior for absolutely no reason".

Radhika Apte also tackles trolls on almost a daily basis. The actress has also been trolled and body shamed many times on social media. Speaking about the same in an interview with a news portal, Radhika reportedly said that jokes on colour and body shaming should not be encouraged. According to her, it is simply not funny to crack jokes on these subjects.

Zareen Khan has been facing body shaming right from the time she made her Bollywood debut. However, the actress recently stated that she has learnt to be a stronger person now. Talking to IANS, she had earlier said, “People around me made me feel uncomfortable and conscious with their comments. In school, whenever students tried to bully me because of my body weight, I would give it back to them. So, after a point, they were intimidated. So, I would say we should rather avoid those people knowing that they are just negative people. I am a wide structured person and I cannot cut my bones off.”