In an industry where actors are ‘supposed to’ look a certain way, it is hard for actresses to maintain their appearance. Having been billed as glam queens forever, actresses are encouraged to look perfect and often they go to extreme lengths to achieve that. Hence, losing all that due to illness and facing body shaming can dent anyone’s confidence. This is exactly what happened to this top TV star and Bollywood actress, who confessed that she felt her ‘life was over’ due to it.
Mouni Roy has been one of the foremost actors on TV for over a decade-and-a-half. The 38-year-old began her career in the early 2000s with small roles in films before breaking out as Krishna Tulsi in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi in 2006. Over the years, she has added to her repertoire with starring roles in Naagin. However, some eight years ago, an injury almost ended Mouni’s career.
In a recent interview to Bollywood Bubble, Mouni recalled that after she suffered a slipped disc around 2016-17, she was bedridden for months, due to which she gained almost 30 kg. “I have also done all of this, like I was sick once, this was about 7-8 years back. I was on a lot of pills and pain killers. I had my L4-L5, slip disc degeneration and calcium stone I had, so I was completely bed ridden for three months. So after those three months I had put on almost close to 30 kgs,” she said.
The actress recalled severely doubting her ability to bounce back from that phase. “I really felt like my life was over, nobody really saw me at that time and then immediately after I did Naagin, I was not in the lime light at that time,” Mouni told Bollywood Bubble. The actress added that once she got better, she reduced all the weight in a healthy fashion thanks to diet and workout.
This wasn’t Mouni’s first tryst with body image issues. In the same interview, she recalled being body shamed for ‘not looking a certain way’ in her early years in the industry as a teenager. “I’ve understood all that (being a quintessential heroine) now, but as a young girl of 19, it was very difficult. I used to cry a lot. I’ve overheard people in a room talking about me. My first 2-3 years in terms of how I looked or felt. I never… When I came here, suddenly it was I didn’t know anything about hair or makeup or how to present myself. But thankfully I was very observant and God gave me the wisdom to finally overcome it,” said Mouni.
Eventually, Mouni was able to emerge from her injury and weight gain and build the second innings of her career. She made her Bollywood debut in 2018 with Gold, which grossed Rs 153 crore. Her most high-profile role in films came in 2022 when she played the antagonist Junoon in Brahmastra, the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year with a Rs 400+ crore gross. Mouni has since appeared in Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 and Blackout, as well as web series Sultan of Delhi and Showtime.
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