Anjali Anand is no stranger to online trolling, but ahead of the release of ‘Dhamaal 4’, he addressed it. In a recent interview, the actor spoke candidly about the body shaming she has faced, the state of female-centric roles in Bollywood and why she refuses to let the noise affect her.
Anjali Anand explores how ‘society saw my weight before my job’
In an interview with India Today, the ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ actress opened up about how conversations with female actors keep fixating on their weight instead of their skills.“Yes, and I think it’s still happening because society still shows that. Society still believes, and still looks at my weight before my work. So jab tak woh hota rahega, tab tak main yeh kaam karti rahungi (as long as that continues, I will continue to do this work) to prove that wrong,” said Anjali.Anjali believes the industry needs to do more to create meaningful roles for women who don’t fit the usual heroine mould.“There’s still a long way to go when it comes to writing better roles for women. That’s what I’m trying to do. The more people see me, the more open their minds are. They’ll start to believe that they can write something better for this actor, for this role — something that uses his skills rather than just his body,” said the ‘Bell Bottom’ actress.On signing ‘Dhamaal 4’ himself, he admitted that it has its own emotional weight because of the subject of the film, “It’s a big mess because it’s a big responsibility when you have something so fragile, something you stand for all the time. Something you know is not right. Something society shouldn’t do.”He added: “But then I think it’s still created by society, and we’re just showing society what their reality is. And if they’re offended by that, that means they’re doing it too. “The actor pointed out that society’s judgment based on appearance is more than weight.“It’s not just about fat shaming. People shame others for being too thin, for the color of their skin, for not having hair, what they look like, what they wear, what brand they wear – everything.Reflecting on the portrayal of women in mainstream Hindi cinema, Anjali notes a gradual but real shift.“Things are slowly changing. Before, characters like Miss Mimi were only shown eating burgers, or Sweetu was reduced to having double chocolate frappuccinos and muffins. There was no standing for the characters.She added: “Women now have agency. There is a community that stands behind them. They are given space, and they own that space. It is a slow process because there are so many people in this country and in the world, but change will come to everyone eventually.”
Anjali Anand opens up on ‘Dhamaal 4’ trailer response
Reacting to the response to the ‘Dhamaal 4’ trailer, Anjali admitted that she felt overwhelmed, albeit in a good way.“I’m just overwhelmed by everything. I’m just hoping that everyone likes the film and things go well. I just hope I get a lot of great features out of it. And yeh jo bhi noise ho rahi hai mere baare mein (whatever noise was made about me), it turned out well and turned out well for me,” he said.
Anjali Anand opens up about trolling
Talking about the online trolling that follows the promotions of the film, Anjali revealed that the team is preparing for it.“We know trolling happens. We’re prepared for it, so we don’t attach importance to it. The more attention you give to trolls, the more they grow. If you don’t acknowledge it, that’s life. Some people get trolled, some can handle it, some can’t. We are only showing the reality of someone who has been through that. “When asked if co-star? Ajay Devgn or the director personally helped support her through the backlash, Anjali laughed it off with characteristic confidence.“Because I don’t look like a man who needs to be told to face it, you know. They know this girl can take a hundred off her chin and still be standing.”
More about ‘Dhamaal 4’
‘Dhamaal 4’ releases on July 10 and stars Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey, Anjali Anand and Sanjay Mishra.