Were you one of those people who were often suddenly pushed in school with a “move fast, fatty!” or was a dependable source of entertainment during the games class? How often are you told a particular dress doesn’t suit you because you are too thin or too fat for it? How often do your caring relatives or even a partner comment on your weight? And you are not even a movie star, right?
Body-shaming is as intrinsic to our culture as our obsession with which god our neighbour is worshipping. And Fanney Khan, the just-released film starring Anil Kapoor, Pihu Sand, Rajkummar Rao and Aishwarya Rai, reminds us once again how cruel and pointless it is.
The film primarily revolves around a father-daughter relationship with both dreaming of making her a singing star. But Lata Mishra (a wonderful debut by Pihu Sand) is also overweight and people not only bog her down with constant jibes, they also refuse to see her true talent, busy as they are booing her out. It is left to her father Ramesh Mishra urf Fanney Khan (Anil Kapoor) to go to fantastical lengths to make the world go beyond her physical appearance to appreciate her for what she excels at.
But how many of us can do that really? And why do we need to have great world-winning talents for others to be plain kind to us or more like, mind their own business?
People who stand out in the crowd - be it for their physical, personal or social traits - are always open to ridicule and censure. And what defines the herd mentality is often norms set by those in power. Whether it’s cows or your body measurements, it’s a few controlling the business on top who tell you what’s important.
The show business and the beauty industry have set impossible beauty standards the world over. From movies to modelling and now singing and other talent competitions, the emphasis is on the “show” to ensure the “business”. Aptitude comes almost by the way. And for the masses, this is the beauty bible to follow.
Fanney shows Lata trying to imitate the super successful and talented Baby Singh (Aishwarya Rai) on stage and getting booed in spite of actually singing better than her. Everyone believes you have to “compromise” to succeed and even a Baby Singh gets indecent proposals so TRPs can be boosted.
In the real world, even a Vidya Balan or Sonam or Arjun Kapoor or Sonakshi Sinha are quizzed about their weight and what they are doing to lose it in almost every interview.
The message is loud and clear. If you want to succeed, you need to look a certain way. It’s doesn’t matter that beauty is skin-deep - that’s how deep they want it.
Have you ever wondered how all the PYTs these days look like they are coming out of a factory?
Even though celebrities today speak out against body-shaming and stereotyping, are enough people listening? While films like Dum Lagake Haisha and Fanney Khan point towards the right direction, would it help change mindsets? Glamour comes for a price, but you don’t know how high the price is till you have actually paid it.
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