- Anjali Anand was paired opposite Riteish Deshmukh, facing fat jokes in the trailer
- She receives online trolling despite being vocal against societal prejudice
- Anjali chose to play the fat-girl role to avoid victimizing the character
Anjali Anand, who shot to the limelight with her performance in Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, has been paired opposite Riteish Deshmukh in Dhamaal 4. The trailer shows fat jokes being cracked at the expense of Anjali's weight. Despite being vocal about societal prejudice, why Anjali agreed to do the role.
"People often say to me, 'How can you do a film like this when you are so vocal and stand against people making fun of somebody?' But this is society — people are still making fun of me even after I have proven myself. People are still trolling me online," Anjali told Screen.
"They are commenting, 'kis bhains ko le liye', 'Riteish ke kya din aa gaye the ki isko iss heroine ke saath kaam karna pad raha hai', 'industry ke kya din aa gaye, heroine nahi bachi hai kya' — these are the comments. Until society changes, scripts won't change," she added.
Anjali's logic is that she would defy the system by being a part of it.
"If there is a fat-girl part, I will play it because if I don't do it, someone else will. I don't want that to happen because I know the way to play this and not victimize the character. I didn't victimize her in the film at all. She is a very strong girl. Her name is Paro. Once you see the film, you will know why she is there and what's happening. Mazak udna tab bandh hoga, jab real life mein bhi mazak udna bandh hoga (People will stop cracking such jokes in films when it happens in real life)," she said.
In an afterthought, Anjali said, "I would be delusional to think I should be cast as an alpha. I don't look like an alpha; I will get films based on how I look, and this will continue until people's thinking changes and directors think beyond. Why will they cast me in a film that people will not come to see?"
Anjali made her debut with the web show Untag. She starred in the Star Plus show Dhai Kilo Prem. Her second show in 2018, Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala, became a huge success. While Anjali's first film was Bell Bottom, it was her role in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani in 2023 that became her breakthrough.
In 2025, Anjali Anand worked on Bun Tikki and Dabba Cartel.