5 min readNew DelhiAug 22, 2022 03:00 PM IST
First published on: Aug 22, 2022 at 03:00 PM IST
Vidya Balan is one of the very few actors who likes to keep it as raw and natural on social media as possible; her Instagram grid is a proof of this.
At a time when self-love and self-care have gained prominence around the world — with many celebrities endorsing it — Balan’s latest post on accepting and embracing oneself is timely and commendable.
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She took to the photo-sharing app to post two mirror selfies, both featuring two different sides and angles of her face. The actor chose to keep it makeup-free and real, while she shared an important message in the caption, wherein she narrated a recent encounter that she had with a fan.
“A few days ago, at an event, this pretty girl came up to me for a picture… There was a crowd, and I was trying to take as many pictures as possible,” she began.
“People were jostling, and in the middle of this chaos, the girl was back for another picture. My manager (who is very sharp) promptly told her, ‘Aapne toh le liya… please aur nahi‘ (‘You have already clicked one, no more, please’). To which she said, ‘Galat side se liya, main achchi nahi lag rahi, yeh post nahi kar paungi‘ (‘The angle was wrong, I will not be able to post it since I am not looking good’),” the actor continued.
Balan wrote that this fan of hers was “miserable”, and that she followed her to the car, “relentless in her pursuit to get the perfect picture, almost making it sound like her life depended on it”. “I obliged… I then got into the car bemused… and it made me think.”
The Dirty Picture star wrote that she has “always preferred [her] left profile over [her] right”. But, as she started on this journey of trying to “love and accept [herself] a little more each day”, she realised “liking one profile meant liking one part of me to the exclusion of the other… because the truth is, I not only liked my left, but also disliked my right profile”.
“I would tell photographers and cinematographers to avoid shooting me from the right. I would be scared if someone shot me from the right, [because] I thought it was my ugly side. It was almost like the fear of being found out,” the 43-year-old shared.
But, today, she has a “growing acceptance and love for every part” of herself. “I don’t care where I am being shot from. I’m no longer scared of anyone seeing that side of me. Truth be told, today not only do I like my right profile, I actually love it. And not because my right profile changed, but because I realised it is never going to. What changed is the way I looked at myself and that changed how I see myself,” she told her fans and followers.
The actor wrote that she clicked the selfies at the end of a long day, and without any makeup to prove her point.
Actor Ileana D’Cruz commented on her post, saying, “You beaut [Sic]” with heart emojis, while Kubbra Sait wrote, “Yessssss [Sic]”
Many others wrote encouraging comments, and it is heartening to see that at a time when social media is being called out every day for perpetuating a strange idea of beauty, a leading actor is furthering the discourse on what it means to love oneself unconditionally.
Kudos to her!
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Vidya Balan said that she hasn't experienced the casting couch. (Photo: Instagram/@balanvidya) 
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