Film Fare

HOW DID THINGS WORK
WITHOUT A SUGAR DADDY?
There’s nothing wrong
in being on your own. If
I could do it anyone else
can. I realised that I’m not
the most talented, I’m not
the best dancer, I’m not the
most good-looking but as a
package, I’m okay.
YOU’VE CARVED A NICHE BY
DOING TV SHOWS AND OTHER
WEB SHOWS…
It’s such a great place to
be when you don’t have
to bank on your looks.
Whether I’m doing a TV
show like Roadies, the
podcast show #No Filter
Neha, or whether films like
Gown: Appapop
Cape: Ridhi Mehra
Tumhari Sulu or Eela…
none of these jobs are
related to the way I look.
It’s such a secure feeling
to be in a business where
I’m not banking on my
looks. I’m not defined by
the width of my midriff;
I’m not defined by the
perfection of my eyeliner.
I’m a woman, who has a
mind. It’s taken long for
people to realise that but
I’m glad that people have
finally come around.
I’ve built on my other
strengths. Your looks are
the weakest thing to bank
upon. Because it’s not
going to be there forever.
Every time I get a job call,
I wonder if I’ll get this call
even when I don’t look a
certain way? The answer to
most of it is yes. Being on a
talk show, or an adventure
show or doing the parts
that I do in films, doesn’t
have anything to do with
a little dress or a bikini.
I’m not objectifying that
category. I’m just talking
about my own life.
THE INDUSTRY HAS ALWAYS
BEEN MALE-DOMINATED...
Of course! But more than
being male-dominated
this industry is success
dominated. I’ve been on
film sets with successful
men and women.
Sometimes their jokes are
not even funny and people
laugh, even before the joke
is over. You know they’re
faking it because that actor
is successful. But when
I say something much
funnier, they don’t laugh
because the other person is
more successful. But yes,
I too have laughed along
wrong with it. I’ve been a
victim of body shaming.
I remember wearing
this lehenga choli as a
showstopper. I believed
I was looking damn good.
The next day, a leading
publication carried a big
article on me. My father,
on seeing my photo. went
on to read it. But it said I
was not of the perfect size.
It went on to describe 15
horrible things about me.
No one deserves to wake
up to such stuff. No one
has the right to decide
what looking great is, what
normal is. My advice to
people who body shame
is #GoF**kYourself. I’m
speaking for a section of
women who’re fit, who
live their lives and who
eat well. And for women,
who give up chocolates
or starve themselves,
# GoF**kYourself.
WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON
COSMETIC SURGERIES?
There’s no need for it.
I’M NOT DEFINED BY THE WIDTH OF MY MIDRIFF; I’M NOT DEFINED BY THE PERFECTION OF MY
EYELINER. I’M A WOMAN, WHO HAS A MIND… I’VE BUILT ON MY STRENGTHS.YOUR LOOKS ARE
THE WEAKEST THING TO BANK UPON. BECAUSE IT’S NOT GOING TO BE THERE FOREVER
with others just because the
person, who cracked the
joke is successful. I feel so
stupid about it!
YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH
BODY SHAMING TOO...
Yes, I have. Even now I
sense it. But people need to
understand that the new
F word is not ‘f**k’, it’s
‘fat’. People who troll,
aren’t the right body
size either. Women kill
themselves trying to
look a certain way. They
don’t have a life left.
Internationally, you have
women showing off their
tyres, their curves and their
celluloid, there’s nothing
Some of the most beautiful
women are the ones, who
haven’t gone through
it. But if you’re doing it
because it makes you feel
secure, do it. But why hurt
yourself? I’m not the type
to do anything like that.
The most I do is threading
my eyebrows. Recently,
I worked with Vidya
Balan (Tumhari Sulu), I’m
working with Kajol (Eela).
Both these women haven’t
gone through any of this
and they look beautiful.
And these are women,
who focus on their jobs.
(Laughs) You either focus
on your job or you focus on
the boob job!