Film posters are delightful airbrushed version of reality. The heroes flaunt well-chiselled physiques, and the heroines are svelte avatars of their real selves.
The recent poster of a new Hindi film, Dum Laga Ke Haisha , was a wonderful subversion of this ideal. Here the heroine carries her (over)weight with ease, a departure from the usual. While looking at the film hoarding on a busy street corner, I heard a group of young girls singing “I’m a barbie girl, in a barbie world…” as their fashionable selves clicked a multitude of selfies.
The contrast could not be more ironic on how we are mirroring our culture’s obsession with the body!
Classroom blues A colleague was shocked when her eighth standard student underwent plastic surgery to resemble a current heroine. That the family completely supported this venture was even more startling. Their argument was that they were helping her in her ambition to enter the modelling industry. Besides the physical pain that she underwent, the whole process only made her more anxious about maintaining her new status.
Her desperation to be perfect had consequences on her academic grades and her relationships with her friends. When concerned teachers spoke to her, they found that her insecurity primarily came from her notion that to be loved, meant to have mannequinlike perfection.
While this may be an extreme case, there are many who are battling their sense of insecurity stemming from what they perceive as flaws. Sometimes, this manifests as a behavioural issue or an eating disorder. It is important to seek professional help from a counsellor if these concerns are intervening with a healthy life.
We live in an image-driven world and it is so easy to get drawn into the whirlpool of illusion. The reminders that we are less than perfect start with advertisements extolling the virtues of whiter teeth to every facet of our lives. The celebrity culture further bombards us with an Alice in wonderland world where the boundaries between private and public are blurred and a wardrobe malfunction is highlighted as a catastrophe.
Be natural
As with all patterns, this too is cyclic and there are many celebrities who are speaking out against this kind of pressure. Vidya Balan has always maintained that she is comfortable with herself and her own sense of fashion despite the backlash of criticism received. Oprah Winfrey has been honest about her battles with her weight and her shows have always stressed the importance of finding true strength inside. One star candidly told the press, “Yes, I am fat, get used to it!”
Like most patterns in society’s evolution, there is always another side to the story. An attractive young woman who is pursuing her PhD in neurosciences amusingly recalls how people are often surprised that she is not a model or actor. She sees no contradiction in marrying her academic interest with her love for fashion and trends in style. “Just because I have a model-like figure and like fashion does not mean my brain is missing,” she laughs.
In one sense, we have just moved from making judgements from one kind of body size to another. Just observing the diversity in the world of nature which abounds in diverse colours, shapes, sizes and species is an exercise in being grateful for the wonders of creation. The multitude of permutations and combinations the gene pool produces is astounding. Is it not time we celebrate our uniqueness?
Invisible burden The weight of the body finds its ways into endless discussions. However, the weight of the mind and heart is a far more invisible burden that we carry.
In life, we accumulate experience — it creates a set of thoughts, generates a set of emotions and registers a memory of feelings. When we carry this weight within us (whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’), we lose a very special gift. That of meeting each moment as if it is new without any preconceived notions
A student’s comment that I was constantly judging him from a previous experience was an eyeopener. I realised that in subtle and overt ways, my judgement had clouded seeing how much he had progressed through the year. It was a valuable personal lesson, battling the weight of the ego. We cannot deny or repress the thoughts and feelings that surface when we encounter life. The only way to lose the weight we carry inside is to observe our thoughts, feelings and emotions and actually see how temporary they are. It is a gradual process and the only success is feeling lighter as we interact and learn from the world around us..
Whether you are like the heroine in “Dum laga…” or are a fashionista enjoying taking selfies (humming the barbie song) may you enjoy the journey of becoming lighter within as you who you really are.
To share your ideas and comments, write to: lifeplus590@gmail.com
