Anjali Anand is no stranger to online trolling, but ahead of the release of ‘Dhamaal 4’, she’s addressing it head-on. In a recent interview, the actor spoke candidly about the body-shaming she’s faced, the state of women-centric roles in Bollywood and why she refuses to let the noise affect her.
Anjali Anand delves into how the ‘society still sees my weight first before my job’
In an interview with India Today, the ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ actress opened up on how the conversations around female actors continue to fixate on their weight instead of their craft.“Yeah, and I think that is still happening because society still reflects that. Society still believes, and still sees my weight first before my job. So jab tak woh hota rahega, tab tak main yeh kaam karti rahungi (as long as that continues to happen, I will keep doing this work) to prove ki that’s wrong,” Anjali stated.Anjali believes the industry needs to do far more to create meaningful roles for women who don’t fit the conventional 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 their thinking opens up. They’ll start believing that they can write something better for this actor, for this role — something that uses her skills rather than just her body,” said the ‘Bell Bottom’ actress.On signing ‘Dhamaal 4’ itself, she admitted it came with its own emotional weight given the film’s subject matter, “It’s a big turmoil because it’s a very big responsibility if you’re taking up something so vulnerable, something you stand up against all the time. Something that you know is not right. Something that should not be done in society.”She added: “But then I thought that this is still being done in society, and we’re just showing society what their reality is. And if they’re offended by that, that means they’re doing this as well.”The actor pointed out that appearance-based judgment in society extends well beyond weight.“It’s not just about fat shaming. People shame others for being too thin, for their skin colour, for not having hair, for how they look, what they wear, which brand they wear — everything. The day that stops, which honestly may never happen, what we can do is present these issues in a different light and show people what’s possible.”Reflecting on the portrayal of women in mainstream Hindi cinema, Anjali noted a gradual but real shift.“Things are changing slowly. Earlier, characters like Miss Mimi were just shown eating burgers, or Sweetu was reduced to having a double chocolate frappuccino and muffins. There was no stand taken for those characters. But with Sweetu, things began to change. Then came Gayathri in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, who stood up for herself.”She added: “Women today have agency. There’s a community standing behind them. They’ve been given space, and they’re owning that space. It’s a slow process because there are so many people in this country and the world, but the change will reach everyone eventually.”
Anjali Anand opens up to the response to ‘Dhamaal 4’ trailer
Reacting to the response to the ‘Dhamaal 4’ trailer, Anjali admitted she’s feeling overwhelmed, albeit in a good way.“I’m just overwhelmed by everything. I’m just hoping that everybody loves the film and things work out. I just hope I get a lot more beautiful parts from this. And yeh jo bhi noise ho rahi hai mere baare mein (whatever noise is being made about me), it just becomes nice and turns out to be great for me,” she said.
Anjali Anand opens up on trolling
Speaking about the online trolling that followed the film’s promotions, Anjali revealed the team had braced for it in advance.“We knew the trolling would happen. We were prepared for it, so we didn’t give it too much importance. The more attention you give trolls, the more they grow. If you don’t acknowledge it, that’s just how life is. Some people get trolled, some can handle it, some can’t. We’re simply showing the reality of someone who goes through that.”When asked whether co-star Ajay Devgn or the director had personally reached out to support her through the backlash, Anjali laughed it off with characteristic confidence.“Because I don’t look like someone who needs to be spoken to deal with it, you know. They know that this girl can take a hundred on 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.