Actor Jheel Mehta From TMKOC Opens Up On Instagram About Being Body-Shamed
Recently, I met my cousin after almost seven months and I remember the first words that came out of her when she saw me, “Hi, oh my god, you’ve put on so much weight.” She could have started with anything else in the world, but she chose to go ahead and comment on my weight. My only response to that was a smile and an affirmative nod. Now, she’s one of my closest cousins and so I honestly wasn’t expecting that sort of greeting from her. But then I realized that it is how we are trained. We have seen our parents, relatives, neighbors, etc. doing the same thing when they meet someone. They body-shame. So, why would we do anything differently? The fact is that as a society we think it is okay to comment on someone’s weight, looks, color, height, etc. And I’d often think that well-known celebrities and actors were excluded from this list. But when actor Jheel Mehta opened up about how she was told that she wasn’t skinny enough – I realized none of us are off the hook.
Recently, actor Jheel Mehta from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, took to her Instagram and in her Instagram reel opened up about how it took her a long time to accept herself for who she is. In her Instagram reel, she spoke up about how she was body-shamed.
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Actor Jheel Mehta who played the role of Sonalika Atmaram Bhide on the well-known tv show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, in her Instagram reel shared the kind of comments she would get on the platform and otherwise. From people commenting on her not being skinny enough, her teeth being too big, her wearing too much makeup to her being too tall, and how she should do something about her acne – she has gone through a lot to keep up with the beauty standards of the society.
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In the end, the actor Jheel Mehta, from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, ends her Instagram reel with messages of self-acceptance. The message on the Instagram reel read, “As long as I like and accept who I am, what anyone else says does not matter. Perfect is actually (im)perfect.” The Instagram reel had the background music by Avanti Nagral ft. Kevin Fernando’s Imperfect.
The actor Jheel Mehta’s Instagram reel was backed by her caption that read, “I wish I heard this song by @avantinagral as a teenager. It took me such a long time to truly accept myself and feel confident in the way I am and to understand that as long as I like and accept who I am, what others say DOES NOT matter… “If you happen to read this, go tell a friend that you think they’re beautiful, smart, and kind, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.”
After actor Jheel Mehta opened up about the body-shaming she faced, she received an outpour of love from her Instagram followers. A lot of them commented saying that she was not only beautiful but also an inspiration to a lot of people out there.
And I honestly can relate to actor Jheel Mehta. More often than not being a woman, we have faced a lot of comments that force us to feel bad about ourselves because we don’t match the unrealistic beauty standards set by society. Even Vidya Balan, the Bollywood actress, has spoken about how she doesn’t want her photos to be edited or re-touched to meet these beauty standards. And that is how it should be. Our only competition is ourselves. We need to realize that no matter what we do, we won’t be able to please everyone, so let’s just focus on pleasing ourselves. Because we are the most important people in our own lives.
