Actor Anjali Anand, who is currently seen in Dhamaal 4, has candidly spoken about the challenges of navigating the industry as a plus-size actor. Reflecting on her journey, Anjali revealed that while Bell Bottom, which marked her big-screen debut, she believes she landed the role because of her body type rather than her acting talent.
Anjali Anand gets candid
In an interview with SCREEN, Anjali reflected on how plus-size actors are often relegated to comic relief in films. After making a name for herself on television, Anjali made her big-screen debut with Akshay Kumar’s Bell Bottom.
Talking about that role, Anjali said, “I was in Bell Bottom only so that one terrorist could fall on top of me and get caught in the film. Such roles get offered to me because I am fat, and it hurts when people just try to make fun of it. They are not even seeing if I am a good actor or not. They just judge me on my body. According to them, I don’t fit the standards, but then, for them, even Deepika Padukone and Aishwarya Rai are not good enough. Even Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have faced criticism. These are just people who want to have an opinion just because they can. Their belief won’t change your reality.”
She also spoke about how her role in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani led to her being typecast, mentioning, “My character taking a stand for herself against body shaming in Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani. It was not something that had happened before. Earlier, a fat girl was just a fat girl in a film, who was only eating large portions of food. She was only there for comic relief, where someone was falling on her, or she was having a burger. Nobody had seen a fat person having a voice. When so much attention comes my way, I feel scared, because even the bad people will talk about me and troll me. In real life, Anjali has never needed to take that stand; no one has the guts to come and tell me anything. Nobody sees my weight first. In my private life, people just praise me for the person I am. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani changed the industry’s approach, but that also put me in a box which I tried to change with Dabba Cartel and Raat Jawan Hai.”
More about Anjali Anand
Anjali made her debut with the web series Untag before appearing in the TV show Dhhai Kilo Prem. In Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, she portrayed Ranveer Singh’s younger sister, Gayatri “Golu” Randhawa. She was most recently seen in Indra Kumar’s Dhamaal 4, in which she is paired opposite Riteish Deshmukh. Directed by Indra Kumar, Dhamaal 4 is headlined by Ajay Devgn and also stars Arshad Warsi, Sanjay Mishra, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Upendra Limaye, Vijay Patkar and Ravi Kishan, among others. The film released in theatres on July 10.