If you have ever watched the comedy TV show ‘Comedy Circus’ then you must recognize Saloni Daini, a cute little girl who played the part of a house help named ‘Gangu Bai’.
However, even though she was able to make her audiences laugh-out-loud with her witty one-liners and brilliant comic timing, she was often bullied for her weight. Fed up with the incessant fat-shaming, the 19-year-old decided to use the lockdown as an opportunity to shed 22 kgs. Sharing about it, she said to Times Of India:
“I would get comments like ‘Bhains lag rahi hai’, ‘kitni moti hai’, ‘kitna khayegi, ekdin foot jayegi’ and things like that. But mujhe bahut maza aate hai yeh sab padh k (I enjoy a lot reading them). I read them with my friends and keep laughing.”
“People who write such comments, they are afraid enough to not show their faces but they can write such things for so many people. Sometimes I do feel low, but I move on quickly. I work towards better things in life and not think about such people. Now I have lost 22kgs, during the lockdown,” she divulged.
She further shared that she is very conscious about posting anything on social media. “I am that person, who thinks a lot before posting anything.”
“I keep thinking if I look good from this angle or that angle. I also receive a lot of hate comments, comments on my weight, but now I want to change that and not think much while posting on social media.”
“Right now, I think so much that my posts are also quite less on social media. But being a comedian, I want to post more funny videos and not think what people think about me.”
She went on to share her weight-loss journey. “When lockdown had started, I would eat so much ghar pe. Mom would cook momos, butter chicken, cakes, and things like that.”
“One day I was sitting in front of my laptop, watching shows. And suddenly, the screen locked and saw my face on the laptop. And I look very chubby. I was 80kgs or something at that time. So, I was like this is the point when I have to lose weight for myself. I just wanted to lose weight to be fit and healthy. I followed a diet and worked out every day. Now I am 58.”
“Lockdown has made me lose weight. I would like to thank lockdown because I couldn’t go out and eat junk food,” she added.
Saloni started entertaining the audiences at the age of 7. She was the youngest comedian at the show ‘Chote Miyan’ and then went on to win ‘Chote Miyan, Bade Miyan’ with her partner.
Opening up about facing criticism because of her weight, she said, “My friend circle has always been very supportive. Being in showbiz, I would always be in comedy, ‘Comedy Circus’. There people would call me ‘Choti Bharti’. They would also think that I am Bharti’s daughter. When I would go for live shows, I would take my mom along, people would ask me ‘Where is your mom?’ I would point them towards my mom and they said, ‘Oh we thought Bharti is your mom.’ In school, there were few kids who would mock my weight.”
Talking about her character ‘Gangu Bai’, she said, “It’s my favorite character. I even have a tattoo of ‘Gangu Bai’ inked on my hand. When I am playing Gangu Bai, I am the most confident person. I can speak anything and I can do anything I want. I can do anything on stage. But when I am Saloni, I am very calm and shan’. Gangu Bai is the one that gives me confidence. So, when people call me ‘Gangu Bai’, I love it. That’s my favorite character. I would love being called ‘Gangu Bai’ even in the future. Having said that, I would love to work as Saloni,” she added.
I just have one thing to say to Saloni, ‘Kuch toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna.’ More power to you, girl!