“You have gained weight!”
“Oh, you have lost weight!”
These are the remarks we occasionally hear from people around us. While these remarks lack decency and sensitivity, things become worse when people make comparative remarks.
Actors are not immune to such comments and criticism, and actor Shefali Shah experienced the same on her recent flight. Shefali Shah shared an Instagram post recounting an incident where someone commented on her looks.
In addition, she revealed that the air hostess did not initially recognise her during a recent flight. She emphasized that she doesn’t strive for perfection all the time but instead values authenticity. Along with a picture of herself taking a nap on a flight, Shefali wrote a detailed caption to accompany her recent post.
In the photograph, the actor appeared with loose hair and held a book in her arms. She accompanied the image with a caption, which read:
“The air hostess sweetly took my breakfast order and suggested I don’t keep anything on the side of my seat cause it could slip into the crevices. I’ve lost many things having not taken the advice in the past. I’m grateful for her kind advice, and I did listen. She came back, I thought to reinstate the swallowing capacity of my seat, but no. She came to appreciate my work, and it was so heartwarming and wonderful to hear.”
“She left me smiling to return yet again. This time to say- “me and the other crew didn’t even recognise you. You look so different than you do on screen, but love your work.” smiled and left. The ‘But’ planted a seed of doubt. I don’t know if I saw appreciation, compassion, or sympathy in her eyes.She almost seemed sorry for me. Not saying but the meaning ‘Must be so deceiving and disappointing to look like someone and be appreciated for it but then in life waking up with your real self’. She came back with my breakfast serving me very sweetly. Ever smiling. She wasn’t mean at all. She just seemed genuinely concerned at my genetics and awed by my make-up and hair artist’s magical expertise.”
“My appetite had flown out of the sealed window at 1500 ft, so I just sat with my coffee thinking maybe she meant I looked different as a character than Shefali does. Now that is a compliment. I want to look like a character and become the role I play. That’s my job, and that gives me immense pride. At least she left me with a choice of ambiguity. I could fill in the blanks as I wished.”
Shefali Shah/Instagram
Shefali elaborated on how this was not her first encounter with such behaviour, as she had previously received more critical comments about her appearance.
Shah added, “But trust me, this isn’t the worst that has been said to me. Some people have been judgmental and even reprimanded, like I broke their trust for looking like myself. Like I’d cheated. A product bought online. Ordered something else got something else.”
“The most epic one was years ago when one person said, “T.V pe toh achi lagti hai”. I wasn’t angry I was just amused at this ridiculous lack of decency. I wanted to give a smart one back, “Atleast I clean up well; what are you going to do with this face you are stuck with”. but It didn’t seem worth it. To just make it clear, I don’t wake up perfect. I’m not a mannequin nor a painting. I am REAL, as real as one can be.”
Shefali has been in the industry for over 27 years. Besides ‘Moonsoon Wedding’, she has shown her acting mettle in several projects such as ‘Once Again’, ‘Delhi Crime’, ‘Jalsa’, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ and ‘Doctor G’.
IMDb
In 2023, she won hearts with her performances in Darlings, Jalsa and Doctor G and the web series Human.
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