It took me years of body shaming comments to realize that the ‘zero size figure’ is the ideal body type a woman should carry or else she will not be accepted well by society. People around me have always been so concerned about the slight belly I lug. Even my ex-best friend was worried about how my stomach would poke out if I started wearing crop tops. The worst was about to come! A truckload of insecurities and body image issues smacked me as puberty decided to come knocking.
To break it down for you, ‘zero size figure’ is an aesthetical definition of how women's bodies are supposed to look in mainstream Bollywood. Stalky and highly unattainable - these are the important signifiers of the said body type.
Planting The Seed Of Body Dysmorphia: It All Started With 2008 Movie ‘Tashan’
Credits: IMDb
Back in 2008, Kareena Kapoor catapulted into fame with her new movie Tashan’, but not for her acting. The earliest memories of zero figure trace back to Kareena Kapoor’s portrayal of Pooja Singh a.k.a. Gudiya in the 2008 action film. Have I seen the movie? Nope. Do I remember the stills of Bebo coming out of the water in a swimsuit? Yes. The industry could be blamed for thrusting insecurities into all women, leading them to starve in order to achieve a figure just like hers as this was hailed as a standard. I personally consider this era as the main perpetrator.
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When Bollywood Taught Chubby Girls To Feel Uncomfortable In Their Own Skin
This scene from the movie ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ will always stay in my mind, all for the wrong reasons! My heart still aches for Sweetu on how she was constantly body-shamed by her own best friend (reminds me of mine). It's bizarre how Naina shaming her best friend for wearing body-hugging garments and consuming sweets was considered normal. When you have character portrayals so horrific, it reinforces the idea that being comfortable in your own skin is a crime. So, according to Bollywood, you must conform to the specific body standard to achieve eternal love.
The Toxic Trend Continues
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Here comes Bhumi Pednekar, giving tough competition to all other zero-figure Bollywood Divas. Since the actress shared these stills on her Instagram handle, she is receiving praises generously reserved for her physical transformation, which is quite ‘Alarming’. Back in 2015, when the star gained weight for her movie ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, she was excessively trolled as she didn’t fit the idol women’s body type and that goes to show how superficial and glib our devotion to actresses is in this country.
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A Personal Account
Having been personally victimized by the ‘flat belly’ agenda, I finally gathered the courage to refrain from fitting myself into the idol body type that society demands. People are so used to watching skinny girls on screen that accepting women with natural bodies ridicules them. God forbid people who can’t support real-looking women. Unapologetically, meeting society’s unrealistic expectations is not on my to-do list. Sorry sir/mam, but I feel completely comfortable with my belly poking out of my crop top. I just like my body type being represented organically. I don’t wish to get a medal in achieving the desired body this broken society demands.
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