When I first watched Dum Laga Ke Haisha, starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar, honestly, I was surprised. Did Bollywood actually make a film with a fat actor without shaming her or using her for comic relief? Does this mean chubby women like me will finally find representation in Bollywood films?
In the film that released on this day seven years ago, 27 February, 2015, Sandhya [Pednekar] is an educated girl who gets married to Prem [Khurrana], who does not like her because she is fat and does not fit into his idea of a dream girl. Prem often fat-shames her. However, Sandhya does not take any of his bullsh*t. In fact, she calls him out saying that at least she is educated, and is capable enough to earn her own bread and butter.
The film beautifully depicts how difficult it is for fat women to have a successful arranged marriage, and it normalises fat female characters. It shows that fat women can have a normal life too, can participate in races, build a career, and have a good family life; that their body weight does not come in the way.
Thought it was always a form of much-needed escapism, Bollywood has given me some major anxiety. It made me question if I was good enough. The beauty standards it had set back in the '90s were not normal. But that did not start then.
Bollywood always has used fat female characters for comic relief, successfully shaming them in the process. If you are someone like me who lives to watch Hindi films, you would know Uma Devi Khatri, also known as Tun Tun by the industry. She was a fat woman who was cast in films only for comic relief, and was shamed ruthlessly.
To this date, people refer to fat women as Tun Tun in real life. Ask me, I have been there, and dealt with this name-calling.
In case you are thinking Bollywood progressed after that, then the answer is no. In Kal Ho Naa Ho, Sweetu's [Delnaz Irani] best friend Naina [Preity Zinta] told her she was only worthy of being loved if she lost weight. And Sweetu's sister [Lillete Dubey] compared her to a double-decker bus. Sweetu's weight was a source of comic relief throughout the film, with characters constantly commenting on it.
In Dil, starring Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit, one of the scenes shows that if the actor would lose a match, he would be forced to kiss an overweight woman. Brandishing a fat woman as a punishment was seriously flawed — but certainly not uncommon in movies from the '90s. And of course, in these instances, the overweight person was always shown to be unhygienic — to make the very idea of kissing an overweight woman disgusting.
Remember Ishq? In one scene, the creators insulted a woman for her weight. I can go on and on and talk about Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Hadh Kar Di Apne, Ujda Chaman, Kabir Singh, or even the most popular The Kapil Sharma Show. In Judwaa 2, Varun Dhawan is shown running away from a fat police woman in London. She stumbles, and finds it difficult to run because fat women cannot run, you guys. And this film released in 2017.
As if all of it was not enough, we even have Instagram and other social media platforms to add to the anxiety. Sara Ali Khan casually post her fat-to-fab pictures, without taking a second to think that she might make her followers, who are mostly teenage girls, feel that you can only make it big if you are thin. This is just one of the many examples.
Films are a reflection of society, and have a major role in influencing youngsters and their attitude towards people. By making films where fat women are shamed, the actors and makers are telling us it is okay to make fun of someone just because they look a certain way.
As a fat woman, I get offended when I see wrong representation of women on screen. I hope Bollywood starts making more films like Dum Laga Ke Haisha, that are inclusive and accepting of women of different shapes and sizes.
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by Eshita Bhargava
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