Kajol recalls being body shamed in the early days of her career: She is dark, she is fat, and…

Bollywood continues to be preoccupied with skin tone and the ideal body form despite considerable efforts to counteract stereotypes and cultural appropriation. Despite the fact that advertisements for skin-lightening creams can have harmful side effects, many actors still promote these products.

Despite the fact that everything said above fosters unfavourable and false assumptions regarding skin tone, it is encouraging to see actors speaking out about this crucial problem in the Indian film business.

Bollywood actress Kajol recently opened up in an interview with Humans of Bombay, revealing some personal information about her career. 

The actor, who most recently starred in Salaam Venky, spoke candidly about her prior experiences with body shaming. 

Kajol claims that she was the target of harsh judgements and disparaging remarks, including being referred to as "fat" and facing criticism for her skin tone.

Despite these painful encounters, Kajol has maintained her popularity in the movie business and has developed into a spokesperson for body positivity and self-acceptance. "She is dark, she is fat, and she wears specs all the time. These were some of the judgments passed when I started working in the industry. I couldn’t care less. I knew I was smart, cool and better than everyone who had any negatives to say about me. So, I kept continuing to be myself and never let it show. Sooner or later, when they couldn’t pull me down, the world embraced me for who I was - Kajol."

There were rumours that Kajol had a skin tone change several years ago. The Bollywood actress, however, rejected these allegations and denied ever having undergone skin whitening surgery in a recent interview with Pinkvilla.

"I have not undergone any skin whitening surgery. I have just stayed out of the sun! For 10 years of my life, I was always working under the sun, which is why I got tanned! And now I am not working in the sun anymore. So I’ve got untanned! It’s not a skin whitening surgery; it’s a stay-at-home surgery," she added. 

Kajol motivated those who might be dealing with similar issues by sharing her personal experience of overcoming body shaming and fending off derogatory remarks.