In the last few weeks, several Bollywood actresses have been body shamed on social media. For instance, Shruti Haasan was criticised because she looked plum in some pictures while promoting her film Behen Hogi Teri. But the actress shut her trolls up by saying, “It’s my face, my body. What I do with it, is nobody’s business. What people write about me on social media does not bother me. I am not answerable to anyone.”
Priyanka Chopra was also trolled after she uploaded a picture saying, ‘Is it ok to be super excited about heading home?’. In the image, it looked as if she had got her nose job done. There were comments like, ‘Lips job, nose job, facelift, Botox kya baki rakha hai aur? There is nothing real about you girl. And whats more funny is ppl r fan of someone shez not’. A few even went on to call the actress ugly.
Earlier, when Deepika Padukone had uploaded images of her wearing a two piece for a recent magazine photo shoot, she invited criticism and ridicule. A user commented: ‘What is she wearing? Looks like diapers.’ Another one said, “Posing in undies..wts the point.” Another one posted, “I wonder how she goes home to face her parents and family.”
Dangal actress Fatima Sana Shaikh was also not spared for wearing swimsuit during Ramzan. One user wrote, ‘Nobody’s asking you to pray, fast or be religious Fatima.. At least in the month of Ramadan try to pay some respect to the one who created you and has given you all this fame today.. Just as a mark of respect you would have posted this after Ramadan .. it’s really disrespectful, trust me it is... We respect you and your work it’s your life, do whatever you wish to but little awareness and respectfulness never killed nobody. We are hurt.”
Another wrote, ‘You should get the tickets of jahannam as soon as possible…” And, one more said, “It’ll surely helps u in Grave. It’s fact when someone gets a little success, they always forget their past. See u on the day of judgment.”
Amidst all this hate talk, a few users have defended the actresses though. One social media user came out in support of Priyanka and said, “A woman should be proud of whoever she is. You haters and trolls are no one to judge anyone, especially body shaming someone. She’s proud of who she is. It’s her body. It’s her wish. She can do whatever she wishes. She doesn’t give a shit to all of you. Moreover I love this picture. I love the way she is. I ain’t her fan but still I support her.”
Another user defending Fatima said, “No nation or no religion, as far as I know, permits any man to disrespect any woman by his words. It’s her choice. Live and let live.”
When quizzed about their opinions on this body shaming of actresses’, many women responded that, ‘It’s up to the actress to decide how she wants to dress’. Kolkata-based entrepreneur Manisha Agarwal said that no one has the right to troll others for their fashion sense and looks.
“It’s after all, their personal choice. Even if they are public figures, they have their personal choice. The kind of comments that people write on social media are really shameful.”
Mumbai-based Priyanka Ghosh, who works in the TV industry, said, “This has become so common these days. We should use social media to discuss national issues and not such unimportant topics. Also, taking efforts to make oneself look beautiful is a personal choice. Why make fun of that?”
Sagarika Behera, school teacher from Mumbai, added, “How one looks or what one wants to wear is no one else’s business. Such people should be ashamed of themselves.”
Think about it.
