Sameera Reddy has spoken candidly about the unrealistic beauty standards she encountered during the early years of her Bollywood career. Looking back at her acting debut in the 2002 film Maine Dil Tujhko Diya, the actress revealed that she was asked to alter her appearance to fit industry expectations, including lightening her skin tone with makeup and wearing padded bras.
Speaking in an interview with Hauterrfly, Sameera recalled, “In my first film, Maine Dil Tujhko Diya, I was made two to three shades lighter. I almost looked grey! I used to do full body makeup to match the colour of my face with my body.” She said these practices reflected the rigid beauty standards that were prevalent at the time.
Questioning society's perception of beauty, the actress added, “Do you know how many women have it in their own families? Her own parents and in-laws say, ‘You're dark or fat.' What the hell! Who has given the definition of beauty?”
Sameera admitted that accepting herself was a long journey that took over two decades. Reflecting on her struggles with self-image, she said, “The confusion with what I had to represent, what I'm selling, and who I am — I have to say it was only in my 40s that I broke it! It took me 20 years because for all these years, I was wearing only padded bras, bum pads, and coloured lenses.”
The actress also shared that comments about her body began early in her career. “I was always ‘pleasantly plump' since my childhood, as I'd like to put it. When I lost weight, I was told, ‘Your bum is flat.' Today, I can laugh about it. I was struggling till my 30s with my identity that I'm not that fair, I don't have light eyes, and I'm not too tall! I used to hunch and walk because my hero wasn't tall. But now I'm like, ‘That's not my problem, bro! You wear heels!' At that time, it was such a problem. So, what do you do? You make the girl feel bad," she said.
Sameera further revealed that the pressure to change her appearance also came from members of the film crew. “Even the dress designers told me right from the start that I had to do something about it. So, all my outfits had built-in bras with pads. And I've to tell you I've the best collection of pads! I was told so many times, ‘How much can we try with the pads, Sameera? Just do something about it. What is it going to take, anyway?'” she recalled.
Maine Dil Tujhko Diya marked the Bollywood debut of both Sameera Reddy and Sohail Khan, who also wrote, directed and produced the film. After a 14-year break from Hindi cinema, Sameera recently returned to the big screen with Abhijeet Mohan Warang's political drama Aakhri Sawal, which released in theatres on May 15.
Also Read : Aakhri Sawal trailer: Sanjay Dutt vows to give the final answer to the final question
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