Posted:
www.dailyo.in/life/fat-is-fat-bollywood-ladies-you-are-not-voluptuous/story/1/745.html. I remember watching an interview of actor
Ayushmann Khurrana a few months back where
he talked about the aspiring actors back in his
hometown Chandigarh coming up to him for
advice every time he visited home. What he
found most interesting was the preparation
those guys were doing to be an actor in
mainstream Bollywood. "Sir, I go to the gym
everyday" was the most common response
claimed Ayushmann much to the delight and
dismay of the interviewer. Look at any of the
current crop of heroes in the film industry and
you'd see six-pack abs staring at you even from
a distance. When a megastar like Shah Rukh
Khan decides to whip himself up in ab-tastic
shape even when he's touching 50, you know
the pressure on our leading men is bigger than
ever before. As I write this piece on
International Men's Day, a couple of thoughts
come to my mind. First, it is great to have men
sweat it out in the gym as long as they can
match it up with acting chops to boot. And
second, why have the women been allowed to
take it easy?
The Hindi film industry was never about
physical attributes in the beginning - heroes
and heroines were like regular people and
bothered more about acting chops than
physical fitness. But then entered Salman Khan
and Sanjay Dutt with their rippling muscles and
Shilpa Shetty and Urmila Matondkar with tiny
waistlines and hourglass bodies redefining how
our screen idols should look. While since then
the men have only gone fitter, it seems the
women are now starting to take it easier.
Deepika Padukone may be flaunting her abs
and Katrina Kaif might be training like there's
no tomorrow, but many of our hot-and-
happening girls aren't setting fitness standards
anymore for sure. Sonakshi Sinha, Huma
Qureshi, Sonam Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra
are girls who can't be called fit. Even Kareena
Kapoor is no longer her famed size zero. And
let me not even get started on Vidya Balan!
Preempting the backlash I'm almost certain to
get from womankind, let me state clearly that I
am all for curvaceous women. Having always
admired Zeenat Aman for her fabulous body, I
see no wrong in woman being fuller and
voluptuous. But what separates actual
curvaceous women from those hiding under
the garb of self-anointed voluptuousness?
Sonakshi Sinha recently appeared on a TV show
to talk about India's obsession with "thin"
women and basically take on all the people
making fun of her weight. The debate was on
thin not being fit and how women shouldn't be
pressurised to lose weight. Vidya Balan has
always gone to town claiming how men prefer
fuller women over size zero ones and has
found ample support from Huma Qureshi and
Parineeti Chopra. Point well noted girls but
who decides what an actually curvaceous body
is? Do flabby arms, disproportionate frames
and no muscle tone whatsoever constitute
curvaceous but fit women? I don't think so.
Objectification of women has been a huge topic
of debate and controversy and rightfully so.
There is definitely a lot more to women than
just their dress size. But if cinema is a visual
medium, why should just the men have to live
up to the fantasy? When you're in a profession
closely watched and followed by everyone,
your pedestal comes with a certain amount of
responsibility. An I-don't-care-attitude isn't a
healthy one for these actresses simply because
they have millions of young girls looking upto
them. Yes, take pride in your natural form. Yes,
don't resort to extreme measures to lose
weight. Yes, don't kill yourself crash dieting. But
since when has not exercising become cool?
I started this piece talking about young men
hitting the gym with a vengeance in hopes of
becoming matinee idols. A big reason for that
is simply because a modern day hero, one who
is fantasised about, is expected to be attractive
looking and physically fit. If not, let's have Shah
Rukh Khan try and work his charm on women
with a paunch the next time and we'll see what
women have to say about that.
Ayushmann Khurrana a few months back where
he talked about the aspiring actors back in his
hometown Chandigarh coming up to him for
advice every time he visited home. What he
found most interesting was the preparation
those guys were doing to be an actor in
mainstream Bollywood. "Sir, I go to the gym
everyday" was the most common response
claimed Ayushmann much to the delight and
dismay of the interviewer. Look at any of the
current crop of heroes in the film industry and
you'd see six-pack abs staring at you even from
a distance. When a megastar like Shah Rukh
Khan decides to whip himself up in ab-tastic
shape even when he's touching 50, you know
the pressure on our leading men is bigger than
ever before. As I write this piece on
International Men's Day, a couple of thoughts
come to my mind. First, it is great to have men
sweat it out in the gym as long as they can
match it up with acting chops to boot. And
second, why have the women been allowed to
take it easy?
The Hindi film industry was never about
physical attributes in the beginning - heroes
and heroines were like regular people and
bothered more about acting chops than
physical fitness. But then entered Salman Khan
and Sanjay Dutt with their rippling muscles and
Shilpa Shetty and Urmila Matondkar with tiny
waistlines and hourglass bodies redefining how
our screen idols should look. While since then
the men have only gone fitter, it seems the
women are now starting to take it easier.
Deepika Padukone may be flaunting her abs
and Katrina Kaif might be training like there's
no tomorrow, but many of our hot-and-
happening girls aren't setting fitness standards
anymore for sure. Sonakshi Sinha, Huma
Qureshi, Sonam Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra
are girls who can't be called fit. Even Kareena
Kapoor is no longer her famed size zero. And
let me not even get started on Vidya Balan!
Preempting the backlash I'm almost certain to
get from womankind, let me state clearly that I
am all for curvaceous women. Having always
admired Zeenat Aman for her fabulous body, I
see no wrong in woman being fuller and
voluptuous. But what separates actual
curvaceous women from those hiding under
the garb of self-anointed voluptuousness?
Sonakshi Sinha recently appeared on a TV show
to talk about India's obsession with "thin"
women and basically take on all the people
making fun of her weight. The debate was on
thin not being fit and how women shouldn't be
pressurised to lose weight. Vidya Balan has
always gone to town claiming how men prefer
fuller women over size zero ones and has
found ample support from Huma Qureshi and
Parineeti Chopra. Point well noted girls but
who decides what an actually curvaceous body
is? Do flabby arms, disproportionate frames
and no muscle tone whatsoever constitute
curvaceous but fit women? I don't think so.
Objectification of women has been a huge topic
of debate and controversy and rightfully so.
There is definitely a lot more to women than
just their dress size. But if cinema is a visual
medium, why should just the men have to live
up to the fantasy? When you're in a profession
closely watched and followed by everyone,
your pedestal comes with a certain amount of
responsibility. An I-don't-care-attitude isn't a
healthy one for these actresses simply because
they have millions of young girls looking upto
them. Yes, take pride in your natural form. Yes,
don't resort to extreme measures to lose
weight. Yes, don't kill yourself crash dieting. But
since when has not exercising become cool?
I started this piece talking about young men
hitting the gym with a vengeance in hopes of
becoming matinee idols. A big reason for that
is simply because a modern day hero, one who
is fantasised about, is expected to be attractive
looking and physically fit. If not, let's have Shah
Rukh Khan try and work his charm on women
with a paunch the next time and we'll see what
women have to say about that.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
25