Actor Anjali Dinesh Anand has responded after content creator Soumya Dubey criticised her for speaking about body positivity while starring in Dhamaal 4, a film that features jokes about her weight. Sharing a video, Dubey said Anand could not speak about body positivity while also being part of humour that mocked her size.
The debate began after a creator shared a video questioning Anand’s recent comments in an interview, where she said she responds to body-shaming by calling people “ugly”.
“The problem isn’t that she played a flawed character. The problem is that you cannot build your brand around body positivity, profit from that message, and then participate in the exact kind of humour you claimed to stand against,” the creator wrote alongside the video.
Dubey’s post referred to a clip in which Anand told a journalist, “Someone calls me fat, I’ll call them ugly, because they are, they’re ugly inside and out, and they’re showing me that.”
Reacting to the statement, the creator said she was disappointed after watching , alleging that several scenes featuring Anand relied on fat-shaming humour.
“I went for nostalgia, but came out so disappointed. Every scene you were in had fat jokes. There were elephant sounds when you entered, and the dialogues around your character were all fat-shaming jokes,” the creator said.
The creator also questioned why Anand would choose such a role while advocating body positivity.
Here’s the video:
“I understand it’s fiction. I understand it’s humour, but not at the cost of how you look. You have a plus-size brand, you promote body positivity, and then you do films where every scene revolves around jokes about your weight. I really thought of you as an inspiration,” she added.
Anjali Anand later responded in the comments, saying she does not have the luxury of turning down work. “Yes, my love. Because society still is ugly. Go see the comments on my page and you’ll get it,” she wrote.
Explaining why she accepted the role, the actor said, “Nobody is going to write me a part until I put myself out there and show what I can do with my talent. So yes, I’m biting a bitter pill to run my house and put food on my table. I’m taking up the projects that I’m getting.”
She added that there were no filmmakers waiting to cast her in roles of her choice.
“I do not have an option to choose what I want to do and what not. There aren’t directors lining up for me to give me parts,” including Untag, Dhhai Kilo Prem, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and Dhamaal 4.
The actor said she hopes attitudes towards plus-size performers will eventually change.
“If they want to cast a fat girl, honey, I’ll be the best damn fat girl they’ve ever seen because I’m here for the long run. I have to wait it out until the whole climate changes. It’s a revolution and it will take time, and I have the balls to wait it out until then,” she said.
Drawing a comparison with actors playing fictional characters, Anand added, “A serial killer playing a part in a film does not mean he supports killing people. See what I can do with my talent and where I have reached with it.”
Anand was recently seen in Indra Kumar’s Dhamaal 4, alongside Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Jaaved Jaaferi, Ravi Kishan and Esha Gupta.