TV actress Sayantani Ghosh recounts ‘when woman passed distasteful remark about her breasts’, says ‘it affected me’

New Delhi: TV actress Sayantani Ghosh recently opened up about her harrowing experiences with body shaming and the negative impact it has left on her in a candid interview with a leading daily.

The 'Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan' actress, who recently made headlines when she slammed a troll for asking about her bra size on Instagram, disclosed shocking instances of when she was objectified and body-shamed in a recent interview with Times of India.

Referring to the troll commenting on her 'bra size', she said, "To be honest, this wasn’t the first time when I had been subjected to such a disrespectful and cheap comment. Not just as an actor but even as a woman, I have been often subjected to uncomfortable gazes and comments. All these years, I avoided it not because of the fear of speaking up but I didn’t want to give any undue attention to these things. 

Talking about her recent social media post on body shaming, she said, "However, this time around, I decided to vent it out through a long post. I realised that being an actor, there are higher chances that people would read and react to your post. So, I thought that if I could talk about important issues and if it encourages and inspires even one person to take a stand for themselves, then it’s worth it."

The actress revealed she began facing body shaming at an early age since she had joined the modelling industry quite soon.

“Since I began my modelling career very young, I have often seen people staring at my body or passing unwanted comments. People don’t understand that these comments can affect someone deeply,” she elaborated.

Later, she recalled a traumatic incident when a woman passed an inappropriate comment about her breasts while she was on a modelling shoot in Kolkata at the age of 17-18.

She said, “One of the first instances that I recall is from when I was 17-18 and doing a modelling shoot in Kolkata. While we have always conceived models to be tall, skinny, and slim, I was slightly on the heavier side. A woman came up to me and passed a distasteful remark about my breasts. Often, I have seen that it’s not just men but even women who make us feel bad about our bodies. A lot of these issues stem from our conditioning and mentality which needs to change. We have so much modern tech at our disposal but if our thinking is still limited to how a person should look, then it’s sad.”

Revealing the negative effect body shaming had on her, Ghosh reiterated the dangers of subjecting someone to body shaming.

She explained, “People don’t think about how their one small comment can shake up and leave a deep scar on the other person. For the longest time, these remarks have affected me and I have struggled to not let these stereotypes affect me.”

She concludes the interview with some helpful advice on cultivating self-love and not falling prey to social media comparison. 

She said, “It can be harrowing to live up to the yardstick of the society when it comes to the ideal body type. But we have to keep on practising self-love and accept our bodies, as that’s the only way to break this vicious cycle. It’s an everyday practice because the healing process takes time and effort from our side. Even today, I often feel that I shouldn’t wear a certain type of ensemble as it may highlight a certain part of my body and I try to camouflage it. It took time but I’ve been finally able to make peace with my body type. One must aspire for a healthy body and a peaceful state of mind.”
 
On the work front, Ghosh currently stars in the Sony SAB comedy series 'Tera Yaar Hoon Main'. The actress who was first seen in the 2002 daily soap Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan has starred in many shows like Ghar Ek Sapnaa, Naaginn, Banoo Main Teri Dulhann, Sabki Laadli Bebo, Comedy Circus 1 and 2, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3, Adaalat, Bigg Boss 6, Meri Maa, Nach Baliye 6, Mahabharat, Sanjivani 2 and Naagin 4: Bhagya Ka Zehreela Khel to name a few.