Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma and current Indian team skipper Virat Kohli tied the knot in a beautiful private wedding ceremony in Tuscany, Italy in 2017. And a couple of years later, Bollywood’s most sought-after couple welcomed their daughter Vamika in January this year.
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Like most first-time mothers, the ‘PK’ actor was also worried about her post-partum weight and the presumed complexities that come with it. In a recent interview, the actor and film producer revealed that her first trimester was ‘awful’. But with hubby Virat by her side, it became a cakewalk.
DNA quoted her saying, “One of the things this experience has taught me is to always look at the positives.”
“It allowed Virat and I to spend a lot of time together because he wasn’t playing any matches at the time. Had he been traveling; I wouldn’t have been able to accompany him in my condition. My first trimester was awful, so it was nice to have him by my side, to handhold and be my cheerleader.”
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She further revealed how afraid she was about her postnatal body. “Just a week ago, I had this discussion with my friend on how afraid I was because of the pressure that women should look in a certain way,” reported Hindustan Times.
She further divulged, “No matter they become mothers before they get pregnant and after they delivered a baby.”
“I was worried. I kept thinking – am I going to hate my body? My body is not the same as it used to be. It is not as toned as it was earlier. I am working towards it because I like to be fit.”
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However, she came to realize that it’s just a state of mind. “Having said that, I am so much more comfortable in my skin today than I was before, even when I had that ‘perfect body’. I’ve realized that it’s a state of mind, it has nothing to do with how you look. I remember showing Virat some old photos of mine, and talking about how nice I looked back then and he said, ‘You know, this is what you do. You look at these pictures in hindsight and say you were looking so nice. But when I tell you at the moment that it’s a great picture, you say aah it’s okay’,” she added.
But the ‘NH10’ actor isn’t in the same frame of mind and doesn’t do that anymore. “I click a picture and I post it without obsessively scrutinizing how I look,” NDTV quoted her saying.
“You have to be accepting of the body that’s done something so profound and miraculous for you. I’d never want my daughter to grow up with that sense of lacking that we’re always made to feel like women. Ultimately, it’s all about perspective.”
“The girl who has the ‘perfect’ body can still not feel great while the girl who doesn’t have a body that aligns with societal beauty standards can still, be immensely confident,” the actor concluded.
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Like Anushka, there are scores of women who feel insecure about their bodies especially after delivering a child. And the road to self-love is often met with societal pressures, unsolicited remarks, derogatory comments, and unrealistic beauty standards.
We hope society grows above all these hollow stigmas and accepts every body of color with the same love and affection.