5 Instances Of Fat-Shaming In Bollywood Movies | Fat-Shaming In Bollywood Movies

Recently, in Double XL, Sonakshi Sinha and Huma Qureshi played the characters of two plus-size women and tried to make a point against fat-shaming and sensitise the audience about the topic. However, there are many films that use fat-shaming as a comical element and normalise the occurrence. Bollywood being an impressionable medium makes the audience adopt such negative practices too. This problematic trope needs to go because fatphobia is a systemic problem that often leads to discrimination against people at work places, in medical spheres, as well as personal lives. 

Here are five instances of fat-shaming used in Bollywood movies, which can trigger anger instead of laughter. 

Kal Ho Naa Ho

Naina’s best friend, Sweetu (Delnaaz Irani), was told that she was only worthy of being loved if she lost weight. Sweetu’s sister even compared her to a double-decker bus. Throughout the film, Sweetu’s weight was used for comic relief with other characters often making a joke about it. The film left an indelible mark in the box office with everybody falling in love with Aman (Shahrukh Khan), but it is a cautionary tale against how even a good movie might not age well with time. 

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Kabir Singh

In the name of love, the film glorified a problematic abusive relationship. But that’s not all. There was also a comparison of ‘healthy chick’ to teddy bears, insinuating that if you’re ‘healthy’, then you can’t be attractive. It was acceptable behaviour because a hero is allowed to pass such comments to seem ‘cool’. Well, we do not expect any better from a movie like Kabir Singh, which may have become a rage, but was also a reason for outrage. 

Mission Mangal

If you thought only 90s movies relied on fat-shaming for humour, then you’re wrong. In Mission Mangal, Tara (Vidya Balan) critiqued Varsha’s (Nithya Menen) professional capabilities by mentioning her weight. A woman commenting on another woman’s appearance in a negative manner is a case of internalised misogyny. It took a man, Rakesh Dhawan played by Akshay Kumar who is known to steal the spotlight from woman-centric narratives (case in point: Padman), to disapprove of that gesture and act as the male saviour, but instead of correcting herself, the filmmakers chose to include a self-deprecating dialogue. 

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

One of the most iconic cult movies of all time also includes fat-shaming. The way Rohan is treated by his brother and others is despicable. Teasing your sibling is okay, but when a movie spends the entire first half making Rohan’s weight a big joke, with him being told to control his eating habits, that is not normal. Even his nickname was Ladoo. And the way Rohan transforms into someone with a ‘hot’ bod later in life is seen as a miracle and glamourised. Only then does Pooh gain interest in him, which indicates how much weight is linked with self-worth.

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Ujda Chaman

A film that had a significant message about addressing the insecurities of a bald man, ended up sending the wrong message to people about overweight people. The film shows Chaman (Sunny Singh) only realising his love for Apsara (Maanvi Gagroo) after he sees his colleague’s mute wife. This subtle link between being fat and being disabled is unwarranted and requires a lot of unlearning and rethinking.

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