Zareen is a tough gal Being strong-willed, body-shaming never bothered her, says the actress
Zareen remembers the time when she weighed 100 kg and was subjected to body-shaming. However, the actress says negative comments never bothered her and, being a strong-willed person, she never felt hesitant to speak her mind. “When I was more than 100 kg, I was often bodyshamed and bullied. However, none of this ever bothered me. It didn’t bother me then and doesn’t bother me now,” Zareen said. “I have always been extremely strong-willed and will never shy away from talking about how I feel. I am very grateful to the people who have supported me through my journey — and the ones who haven’t, have only made me stronger,” she added.
Is Bollywood supportive of actresses with a fuller frame? “It’s a known fact that I have been criticised for my weight in the past. But things are changing, people are now increasingly getting comfortable with talking about bodyshaming. We are beginning to speak more and more about body-positivity. While being an actor requires you to look a certain way, your performance and acting abilities are qualities that should matter the most. However, I still feel we have a long way to go in embracing this concept in its most real sense,” she said.
Zareen made her screen debut in the 2010 Anil Sharma period film Veer, co-starring Salman Khan. She later won more popularity from her item number Character dheela in Salman’s Ready. Commercial success in Bollywood came her way with Sajid Khan’s Housefull 2. The following year, Zareen also made her Tamil film debut in Naan Rajavaga Pogiren, in which she did an item number in the song Malgove. She also did films like Hate Story 3, Wajah Tum Ho and Aksar 2 where she was seen in some bold avatars.
Has doing such roles added weight to her acting career? “Every role is a learning experience. I am extremely choosy about the scripts that I accept. I choose movies from an audience point of view — keeping in mind what they would like to watch. You pass or fail, but every single choice you make is an experience,” said Zareen, who judged models for the third edition of a plus-size fashion show for a forthcoming fashion week.