Recently, actress Ayesha Takia took to social media to air her disappointment at being trolled after she was photographed at the airport. Varsha Hegde, winner of Kiss Ishq N Konnections, says that being a celebrity is not an easy feat.
“Being a celebrity can put you in a very vulnerable position. We want people to see us recognise us, talk about us, but sometimes they talk in a very different paradigm. When we are shooting, there are certain time zones, there are certain climatic conditions and, because you are human, you are meant to have hormonal changes, normal body issues, muscle issues, there are a lot of things that can happen and that can help you to put on weight and lose weight. When you put on weight, you’re already going through a lot mentally because you know that you’re a celebrity and you need to be in a certain shape, and you’re fighting your own battle,” she says.
She adds, “At that time, when the press or the media or people start talking about it, it becomes a little difficult for you and it’s a little harsh from the side of the media. I do understand that the media is doing their job to help us sell ourselves. They’re making us famous by talking about us, but also make sure that what you talk about actually affects people a lot, a lot. And it’s all about mental health, physical health, and putting on weight and losing weight. If it had been in people’s hands, everybody’s hands; everybody would have been size zero and great looking people on this planet. But we have to understand that certain roles and certain situations happen in your life and your human body goes through a lot of changes. Like, even I had put on 11 kilos in eight weeks of my last show because I was not fed diet food. And also, even my body went through a lot of changes and when I was body shamed at a certain point, I felt really bad and it broke me.”
It’s natural for people to look differently as they age, she says. “It’s not possible for a woman to stay like a teenager for all her life. It’s not possible like after having two beautiful kids and then staying back and coming back to her own body. Is it also her priority to be in that shape, or is she happy with her body? That is also what the media needs to look up to because she’s not complaining about her weight issues. You don’t see her running around the gym. She’s very happy with her own body. So let her be happy. Why are we talking about how she put on or how she should look? Or how she used to look? She’s not in the film industry anymore. She’s happy in her own world. I wish her all the best and kudos to her the way she answered these trolls.”
