Actor Shriyam Bhagnani Recalls Facing Body-Shaming After Gaining Over 15 Kg For Sumo Didi

Shriyam Bhagnani is winning hearts with her performance as Hetal Dave, India's first female sumo wrestler, in Sumo Didi. While preparing for the role, the actor underwent nine months of training and gained weight to look the part. However, the physical transformation also brought experiences that made her understand body-shaming more closely. 

In a conversation with The Free Press Journal, Shriyam opened up about facing comments on her appearance after gaining weight for the film. 

Shriyam explained that people often commented on her appearance without knowing that her weight gain was part of the preparation for her role. She also shared that getting back to her earlier weight took time, with the effects of the transformation continuing for around a year and a half. She gained over 15 kg for her role. 

The experience gave her a closer look at how easily people comment on someone else's body. According to the actor, body-shaming is not limited to weight but can also be about a person's height, complexion, gender, or age.

“It's not just about the weight, it's about your height, it's about your complexion, it's about your gender, age… it's about all kinds of shaming that happens. And not just in our country overall, in the world,” she said.

Shriyam also pointed out how conversations about weight have become so common that people often bring them up as soon as they meet someone. Whether it is telling someone they have lost weight or asking them about weight gain, such comments are often treated as casual conversation, even when they can make the other person uncomfortable.

“People are just comfortable coming and telling you things about your own body. And I don't think that should ever be a point of conversation,” she added.

The actor further stressed that body image concerns are not something women alone deal with. While women may be more open about discussing their experiences, she believes men face similar pressure over their appearance and should not be left out of the conversation.

“I feel like it's just the women who are more expressive, and they're able to, in general, be more expressive and are able to, you know, talk about this,” Shriyam said.

For the actor, her experience while working on Sumo Didi made the film's body-shaming scenes feel close to reality. She believes these experiences find their way into stories because art often reflects what people see and experience in everyday life.

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