Sonakshi Sinha battled Fat Shaming, Bullying & was Replaced in Films, Reveals her shocking struggle story

A costume designer turned actress, Sonakshi Sinha, had to fight against all odds to make her name shine in the industry. She might be a star kid but had to face a number of stumbling blocks in the way of her filmy career. From not being the ‘perfect size’ required for films to being called out for nepotism, the actress had to face it all.

It is a very common notion that only outsiders in the film industry have to face struggle to make their mark while the star kids or the people related to the film fraternity have it all easy. But, that is not completely true as Sonakshi’s journey from being a 95 kilos kid to today being a successful actress was no cakewalk. 

Sonakshi opened up about her struggle story and how she battled the hardships of nepotism, body shaming, bullying, getting replaced in films in a recent interaction with Pinkvilla. She revealed, "I have been bullied quite a bit. I have had my fair share because I was a fat kid. I used to weight around 95 kilos and I was always a big kid. Even though I used to do a lot of sports, the boys used to bully me and call me names. They wouldn't give me the main roles in plays in school. They would always make me stand at the side or be the narrator."

She also recalled a college incident where she was bullied for her weight and denied to walk the ramp. She said, "For instance, I remember something that happened in college.  So we had to organize this annual fashion show and I wanted to be this model and walk on the ramp. So one of the thin girls told me, 'You handle the lights'. 

"I said, "Why? I want to walk the ramp." She replied, "No, you are too big to walk the ramp." I just felt really bad. There's so much you want to do when you are growing up. So who is this girl who happens to tell you that you can't do it just because she is 10 or 20 kilos less than me! I'm very happy with where I have reached."

The 32-year-old actress also went on to add how the fat-shaming did not stop for her even after college and continued even in the film industry. "It didn't stop there. I lost 30 kilos for my first film. When it was released, the audiences lapped me up but the worst part is I was being fat-shamed by the industry people and the media. That really hurt. I knew I wasn't the average-looking stick figure person. I didn't have to. Honestly, I knew I had a lot more to offer than what I weight on the weighing scale. So I never took that to heart." 

Sonakshi made her big debut opposite Salman Khan with the hit cop series Dabangg in 2010. She has some interesting movies like Noor, Akira, Lootera, Khandaani Shafakhana and the most recent Mission Mangal to her name. She will be seen in the third installment of the hit cop series Dabangg 3, which is slated to release this December. 

Credits: Pinkvilla