Bollywood actresses, notorious for holding on to their looks for dear life, finally seem to be letting go of their fixation with ageless perfection. It seems this generation doesn’t scare that easily when faced with wrinkles and spots.
Actress Lara Dutta Bhupathi recently posted a picture of herself completely bare-faced, captioning it, “Freckles, spots, laughter lines,pores.....love your skin at any age! #Ariasbeauty coming soon!! #older&proud #earlymornings (sic).”
And she’s not the only one who’s embracing her age and her imperfections. Sonam Kapoor and Tabu have also gone without any makeup and posted pictures of their un-glammed faced on social media, saying that they don’t want to deceive the young girls who look up to them.
“I am worried about what my viewers think because I am completely against lying. I am worried about what goes through the minds of young girls and boys. I don’t want to present the wrong perception of myself to anybody,” Sonam says.
Lines, spots, under-eye bags and wrinkles are completely normal, and everyone has them at some point. But some actresses succumb to the pressures of showbiz and never let their fans get a glimpse of their “real” selves. Actress Manisha Koirala feels that glamour and ageing do not go hand in hand.
“The moment you get wrinkles, a little puffiness under your eyes, or your hair starts greying, there is a certain pressure on you to fix it, especially if you’re an actress. I feel, if one can age gracefully and accept it, then that’s great. There is beauty in every age, and to be able to carry yourself, wrinkles and all, has a lot to do with dignified beauty,” Manisha says, clearly stating that actresses don’t wake up looking the way they do on screen.
“We all are constantly trying to look pretty. Showing off your age can result in a transformation in people’s mindset. It’s important to just be your age, and not succumb to the pressures of looking young,” she adds.
Actress Surveen Chawla agrees, saying, “We don’t wake up looking pretty, and I am glad more and more actors are making this clear to their fans. Young girls look up to us, so it’s our responsibility to guide them without faking it.”
“If I have lines around my eyes, or if I’m doing something to look a certain way, it’s my duty to share that. I don’t want young girls to have the wrong idea; that’s so unhealthy. I have been overweight, and I have lost all that weight, so I know what goes on in a woman’s mind. Even men have a lot of insecurities,” Sonam Kapoor adds.
With actresses shedding their masks, there’s hope that things will slowly change for women at large, and we’re here for it.
