Vaani Kapoor says that she’s happy with the way she looks and doesn’t want to change anything about it, even though she has heard that women look better with ‘fuller bodies’.
It’s no cakewalk to land a plum project in the film industry, particularly if you’re an outsider. With unrealistic beauty standards already plaguing it, the scrutiny on one’s physical appearance becomes way more intense if they don’t come from a film family or have the safety net of a godfather. And one actor who has borne the brunt of this excessive scrutiny at the beginning of her career is Vaani Kapoor. Years back, she shifted base to Mumbai from New Delhi to carve a niche for herself in the movies.
And there’s one incident in particular that she hasn’t forgotten. Speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha, Vaani recalls the time when a director dropped her from a film for her skin colour. “I haven’t been told directly but information reaches via other people. A filmmaker had once said that I wasn’t fair enough to land a role. He said that I wasn’t ‘milky white’,” says the actor, while emphasising on the film industry’s obsession with a fair skin tone.
So, how did she deal with it? “I told myself that it is what it is. If that’s a requirement, I don’t want to be a part of his projects. The feelings are completely mutual there. He can find his milky white beauty or his fair and lovely woman. I know that I can find a better filmmaker for myself. This happened ages ago. And that filmmaker wasn’t from Mumbai,” shares the Shuddh Desi Romance and War star.
While she has dealt with that episode with grace, there are moments even today when she is body-shamed. “What I hear a lot sometimes is that I’m too skinny and that I should put on some weight because people like women with fuller bodies. But I like me! I don’t want to change anything about myself. I’m fit and healthy. I usually don’t get bothered by these things. Sometimes, you don’t know if such comments are coming from a place of concern or like a gold advice. But I think I’m pretty okay and I like who I am,” remarks Vaani.
On the professional front, she’s gearing up for the release of Mandala Murders. The series, co-directed by Mardaani fame Gopi Puthran, sees Vaani playing a no-nonsense and strong-willed investigating officer. Reacting to Gopi’s statement about this era being about the portrayal of angry young women on-screen, Vaani’s rather happy with the way the audiences are now embracing a female character’s rage. But a woman’s strength is often confused with anger and that’s one bone she has to pick even off-screen.
“Being feisty and standing up for oneself could be misinterpreted as anger. It’s not like women are walking around with anger issues all the time! It’s about having an opinion and expressing it and having the confidence to speak our minds. Sometimes, you’re told to keep quiet in an unspoken way. I don’t think all men expect you to keep quiet but there are some who do. You can’t generalise them all,” states Vaani.
