Sonam Kapoor bursts all the myths of flawlessness in this important message to girls!

Sonam Kapoor is one Bollywood fashionista, whose style sense we all can vouch for. Many are aware that the actress was once battling her weight before entering the tinsel town. 

Even after becoming an actress, it took years for Sonam to believe that she actually looked like one. In her recent article published on BuzzFeed India, Sonam bursts the myths of female flawlessness, especially in case of female celebrities.

Here are some important excerpts:

"Like every girl, I spent many nights through adolescence leaning into my bedroom mirror, wondering why my body looked nothing like it should."

"“Itni lambi, itni kaali,” a relative casually let slip at a family gathering. “Shaadi kaun karega?” It confirmed that my greatest insecurities were well-founded."

"I didn’t know much at 15. But I knew I could never look like a Bollywood actress."

"I constantly worried that, if asked to dance in a backless choli, rolls of back fat would give me away as an imposter to the industry. Nobody lines up to buy tickets to see cellulite."

" I embarked on a series of unhealthy behaviours. I dieted serially; sometimes South Beach, other times Atkins. Once, in desperation, I tried a diet that had me eating pineapples all day."

"At 18, I went on a date that I thought went well. Later, the boy told our mutual friend that “Sonam is too big”. I didn’t eat for a day."

"Far from accepting my body once I was making a living as an actress, I was shown new reasons to hate it.Articles surfaced online, photos zoomed into my arms and thighs, red circles drawn around the slightest hints of a blemish."

"People started calling me flat-chested. I’d never been insecure about my C-cup but I got defensive about it on Koffee With Karan."

"I’m lucky to have had my friend and makeup artist Namrata Soni, who sees my face from hyperclose quarters and goes out of her way to make me feel good about it...I have a forcep scar on the right side of my face and my lip lifts up on one side (you notice these things when you’re in front of a camera a lot). When I float the idea of getting them fixed, Namrata reminds me that they make me me."

"Today, at 31, I like my body because it’s healthy. I’m done celebrating thinness or flawlessness. I’ve embraced a fit lifestyle, clean eating, and the pursuit of waking up every morning feeling energised. There’s beauty in good health."

"But pursue prettiness for yourself, by your own definitions – not to meet culturally preset notions of “flawless”.
Because flawlessness is a dangerous, high-budget myth, and it’s time we shattered it."

"Before each public appearance, I spend 90 minutes in a makeup chair. Three to six people work on my hair and makeup, while a professional touches up my nails. My eyebrows are tweezed and threaded every week. There’s concealer on parts of my body that I could never have predicted would need concealing."

(Read the full article here.)