For years, Indian cinema stuck to a rose-tinted, myopic idea of how a film heroine ‘ought to’ look like. The standards of beauty meant that many talented actresses were never made to believe they fit. And even though the industry has made giant strides in the right direction in the last few years, the current generation of female stars say they have felt that ‘otherisation’ in their careers. In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, Mrunal Thakur talks about how the set beauty standards affected her, and why she took a long time to be comfortable with how she looked.
‘I was not confident about how I looked’
Mrunal is currently awaiting the release of her film, Do Deewane Seher Mein. The romantic drama sees her play Roshni, a girl who battles self-image issues as she is constantly compared to her sister (played by Sandeepa Dhar). Talking about the role, Mrunal says, “That’s probably the only reason I am a part of this film. There are a lot of people out there, not just girls, but also boys, who have been in that shell. They are so underconfident because someone in the past told them, ‘You’re not good enough!’ There would always be a comparison with their siblings. That resonated the most with me. It took me 30 seconds to hop on.”
The film’s trailer features Mrunal’s character admit she doesn’t think she is beautiful. Many fans quipped that it was the ‘biggest joke’ that an actor like Mrunal, known for her beauty, said that line. Mrunal laughs at the reaction and says, “When people say it’s a joke, thank God. But what they see is not what I see.” However, Mrunal has had her fair share of battling self-image issues. She confesses, “Up until 2025, I was not confident about how I looked. I felt like maybe I’m a misfit. I felt maybe I’m not good enough because the beauty standards set were completely different.”
Mrunal admits that with changing times, she was able to let go of that baggage. “Right now, beauty lies in being authentic and being comfortable in your own skin. And now here I am after that long journey, somehow finding that space where I am comfortable with the way I am,” she says.
‘Today’s generation is giving up on love’
Do Deewane Sehere Mein, Mrunal’s upcoming film, deals with how the younger generation sees love and relationships. When asked if the notion that Gen Z doesn’t take love seriously holds true, Mrunal says, “It’s not like they don’t want to. But the times have changed. It’s a world of 24-hour stories. Even on social media, you have stories that disappear in 24 hours. The only things missing are consistency and efforts. Today’s generation is giving up not just on love, but on many other things. My only wish is that they don’t, that they have patience.”
Do Deewane Seher Mein is a romantic drama that also stars Siddhant Chaturvedi in the lead role. Directed by Ravi Udyawar and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film will release in theatres on February 20.
