If you want to carry another life within you, you have to respect your own: Sonam Kapoor

The actor talked pregnancy, patriarchy and body image issues in her latest interview with ‘Vogue’

Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor made headlines earlier this week after she announced that she is expecting her first child with husband Anand Ahuja. Revealing that the baby is due this fall, Sonam shared a loved up picture with her husband, in which she can be seen cradling her baby bump. In a recent interview with Vogue, the actor opened up about her thoughts on pregnancy, as well as the body-image issues she has suffered from due to the stringent societal standards.

Sonam, who debuted in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film Saawariya opposite Ranbir Kapoor, shared that the glamour associated with the profession didn’t come easily to her. At 5’10, Sonam is one of the tallest female actors in Bollywood, joined by megastar Deepika Padukone and actor Kriti Sanon. “I was a big girl at 5’10,” shared Sonam, adding that the superstar gait was something she had to work on. “I didn't have the refinement that other young girls had—that posture, that elegance. I was a bit of a mess.”

The actor, after experiencing a growth spurt in her teenage years, gained weight, which came with its own host of body-image issues. In a 2019 interview, the actor shared her ordeal, “Till I was a certain age, I was called Giraffe because I was too thin. And then I gained weight, then I had a hard time with my weight. Sometimes, you don’t put on weight, then people are like, ‘Oh my God, she’s so thin.’ Especially when you come from a Punjabi family, and they feed you so much you gain weight, then they are like, 'She is too thin, too fat, too dark, too tall… who will marry her?’ It’s not healthy, it’s not correct, it’s not mentally okay. People go through so many mental health problems, you can’t do that to people.”

However, Sonam is now adamant about honouring her body and her mind and focusing on what feels good. “You're prepped from an early age to be pretty enough to get married,” she shared with Vogue. Refusing to fall into the trap of fad diets and extreme restriction, Sonam shared, “I ate a dosa for breakfast this morning. I'm not trying to be on some high protein diet to get to fifteen percent body fat. Crash dieting is just not sustainable." She asserted, “I realised that it was much better to be confident and body positive, as opposed to eating celery sticks.”

Speaking about the importance of this mindset, especially with respect to her pregnancy, Sonam explained, “If you want to carry another life within you, you have to respect your own.” The actor shared the news of her pregnancy in a post captioned, "Four hands. To raise you the very best we can. Two hearts. That will beat in unison with yours, every step of the way. One family, who will shower you with love and support. We can’t wait to welcome you.”

However, in her conversation with Vogue, Sonam reflected on how it hasn’t been an easy journey so far, with the first three months of her pregnancy being rather difficult. The actor shared, “It's been tough—nobody tells you how hard it is. Everybody tells you how wonderful it is… The reason we're all here is to change and become better versions of ourselves. So that evolution is something I look forward to.”

Speaking about the rampant sexism in the Indian film industry, Sonam asserted, “We are always catering to the male gaze, which is disappointing.” She added, “If I put a sexy picture of myself on Instagram, it'll get way more likes than the one where I'm wearing a pretty dress.”

This isn’t the first time the actor has opened up about the objectification of women in the industry. In a 2020 interview, Sonam shared with Cosmopolitan India, “Nobody has ever spoken about a man in the way women are being spoken about right now. It’s almost like we have gone back several decades...where, if you are a woman in the film or fashion industry, you are not thought of as an artist or a creative person. Instead, your moral character is questioned.”

However, despite the online hate, Sonam finds solace in fashion. “I love fashion. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it,” she shared with Vogue. The actor added, “I like to look for things that make me feel more like myself—I'm an actor and a Gemini: I like to be a different person every day."