“The biggest price I’ve paid for stardom is that I can’t trust anyone anymore”
Vidya Balan has struggled with weight loss for two long decades but she faced her biggest blow in 2008 and it almost killed her career as an actor. Balan’s nutritionist allegedly diagnosed her with an ailment that hindered weight loss and recommended a pill to tackle the problem. The actress recalls that while she was on the medication she felt exhausted all the time and when she stopped, she put back twice the weight that she had managed to lose. In a recent interview with the Mumbai Mirror she reveals that it was shocking to find out from other doctors that she had no such ailment, that she was perfectly capable of managing weight in a healthy way. She figured that the nutritionist wanted to get famous at her expense and couldn’t help thinking “If this can happen to me, this can happen to anyone”.
The entertainment industry has been relentless in its criticism of Vidya Balan and her curves. The irony is laughable because till she gained 12 kilos for her role as Silk in The Dirty Picture and showed off those love handles, no one thought she was sexy.
So why did she spend about two decades trying to lose weight putting herself through crash diets and intensive exercise regimes? Vidya Balan confesses that even though she thought she was beautiful as a child with big eyes and long hair, as a teenager her ‘largeness’ often made her feel small. Peer pressure made it worse. Even as a star she felt that she didn’t quite fit into the gym obsessed world of Bollywood. The pressure of criticism and also the end of a brief relationship with Shahid Kapoor is what made her seek professional help.
“A fat girl always feels a boy will not like her because of her weight. But there is only so much a boyfriend, a husband and your family can do. But I know that love is non negotiable and at the end of the day, you have to come to terms with who you are, ” says Balan.
What doesn’t destroy you, only makes you stronger and Vidya Balan doesn’t just believe in playing bold characters on screen, she is one herself. Her lessons in life are simple - stay grounded, accept yourself for who you are, and choose your friends wisely.
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