Lakshmi Manchu says she was Body-Shamed for being Curvy

In a candid interview, Indian actress and producer, Lakshmi Manchu talks of her encounters with body-shaming.

Speaking to Pinkvilla, Lakshmi wanted to commemorate International Women’s Day 2022 with a revealing interview to empower other women.

The superstar spoke about her multiple casting couch auditions. Here she was exposed to typecasting and sexism, leaving her distraught yet unsurprised:

“These are something you have to deal with at any walk of your life.

“Be it from the IT industry or banking, I know a lot of women from different industries and they face it everywhere. Yes, I face this all the time.”

The actress went on to detail how displeased casting producers were at the transitions of her body:

“It is part and parcel of the game, be it body shaming or trolling.

“When I was nice and curvy, they said I was too curvy. Now when I’m skinny, they call me too skinny.”

She added: “It used to affect me quite a bit and I had to sit down and see if it is true, why are they saying it.”

Lakshmi Manchu is the daughter of veteran actor, Mohan Babu, so thought she would gain some kind of respect:

“Initially, I did not think that all of these would happen to me because of who’s the daughter I was or that I was born and raised in the industry but they are ruthless.

“Nobody is fair and kind anywhere.”

Lakshmi faced another batch of trolls in October 2021. She congratulated Vishnu Manchu for becoming the President of the Movie Artist Association (MAA), tweeting:

“All the very best and all my blessings as you commence your new journey to change the world. I’m so proud of you and cannot wait to see what’s about to unfold!”

But, many took to Twitter to ridicule the actress. One Twitter user commented:

“Change the world? Are you sure? Heights of exaggeration. Come on, it’s just a small association called MAA. Chill.”

Another person sarcastically wrote: “Along with the world, please change the galaxy also.”

But this type of taunting has only impacted Lakshmi in the most positive way. This honest look into her experiences has only given her the strength to persevere.

The starlet wants her stories to serve as motivation. To celebrate and honour the spirit of womanhood, she declared:

“You will be judged no matter what, you will feel guilty no matter what.

“I think it’s not you, just as a woman, but we carry the shame and guilt from generations to come for no fault of ours.

“Don’t ever stop yourself from anything you want to do. Be fearless and fabulous.”

Lakshmi’s retelling of how she overcame the body-shaming and troll comments have certainly empowered audiences.