When I stumbled upon an article about Alia Bhatt facing trolls for showcasing her makeup routine in a candid Instagram reel, I couldn’t resist lunging into the social media uproar.
My curiosity stemmed from the fact that her recent look in ‘Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani’ had everyone fawning over her and Rani’s style became a statement. I was, hence, taken aback on knowing that it was her ‘looks’ that she was being attacked online for.
As I watched the reel, I was pleasantly surprised to witness Alia showcasing her imperfections with confidence, and it made me ponder: Are people so oblivious to reality that they expect actors to have flawlessly perfect skin off-screen? The trolls were quick to criticize her by nitpicking every blemish, visible black spots or other skin flaws that they apparently noticed, but honestly all I saw was a woman glowing naturally, and being her raw self unabashedly.
Alia deserves applause, not the trolling
In a society where perfection is often painted as the norm, Alia Bhatt deserves a round of applause for stripping away the façade and normalizing authenticity. Yes, I also agree with the counter argument that movie stars contribute to shaping beauty ideals, but Alia’s genuine embrace of her natural self sends a powerful message, especially to the younger generation grappling with self-image issues.
This sort of hit close to home as often I have conversations with some of my teen students about how they find themselves burdened by self-consciousness, judging their worth based on very human, natural flaws. They are insecure of their bodies and skin, and it really affects their morale. They feel pressured to succumb and conform to be accepted and appreciated. While at our end we can keep talking to them about embracing their uniqueness, Alia’s authenticity becomes a source of inspiration to squash the prevalent societal expectations and unrealistic beauty standards.
Beauty is not just skin deep
And not just the younger generation, but even women like us often find ourselves in the same position. The societal pressure to match up to a certain standard of beauty can be relentless. Conversations about skin flaws or what is deemed as ‘not pretty’ are all too common. We have all had moments where we have scrutinized ourselves in the mirror, focusing on perceived imperfections instead of cherishing the unique, beautiful qualities that make us who we are.
While I strongly believe that the onus of changing the narrative of how a woman should look to be considered beautiful is not solely on a woman, but if a celebrity with more than a million followers chooses to bare her skin ‘as is’, particularly in the meticulously curated, sanitized and ‘all pretty’ Instagram universe, I would hoot, cheer and clap for her. Inadvertently, she makes a strong, crucial point here that acne, spots, blackheads, whiteheads, blemishes, wrinkles, dark circles are all not aberrations but are ok and normal, and absolutely common.
This is a teeny-weeny but praiseworthy step towards dismantling insensitive, ridiculous beauty standards to foster a culture where imperfections are not only accepted but are considered as normal as someone not even giving it a second thought.
The trollers can take a hike, while I sincerely hope more and more actors, models and public figures from the glamour world show it as it is.