Is Aishwarya Rai Too Fat To Be On The Cannes Red Carpet?

Aishwarya Rai Bachan, all set to walk down the Cannes red carpet for the 11th time this year is at the receiving end of fan rage back home in India.

Fans feel she has let them down by not bouncing back to her fit form six months after the delivery of her baby girl. The media is not very supportive either. Look at this report by a local channel:

This negative bombardment on her appearance has picked up momentum as the date for her Cannes appearance draws nearer. Bollywood has had an increase in presence at the Cannes over the last decade and it will not be wrong to say Aishwarya has been the most persistent and glowing representation of the Indian film industry at the Cannes.

The media in India is in an uproar about her impending visit. They feel and have no qualms in voicing their disappointment, quite vocally and blatantly, that she will look a disaster and that she owes her fans to get back in shape. 

Now that is being supremely unfair.

She is a celebrity for what she is, an actress, not for her size. Her size does not change the fact that she is Aishwarya Rai. Giving birth brings a lot of changes to a human body. A woman puts on weight during pregnancy; there is an onslaught of hormones and losing the fat after the birth is not always an easy task and there are a lot of things at work.

Yes there are women who bounce back to their original size or at least very close to it very quickly, but then every woman’s body has individual needs and act and responds differently to another’s.

Plus, people are being unfair here also because they are looking at the appearance. They have no idea what has caused her weight gain post pregnancy. She may be facing medical problems. She may or may not be trying to shed the weight; it’s her decision. If she wants to relax and give some time to her baby, and have her exercise regime take a second seat, it’s her prerogative.

Pictures of Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham have been flaunted on the Indian media, imploring Ash to take a lesson from them.

Since when has size defined a person? She will be at the Cannes and will dress and make herself up to the standards of representing her country. Size does not come in toit!

She represents India as well as the brands she endorses namely Longines, Lux and L'Oreal. And she will be doing just that!

It is about time people learn a personality has nothing to do with size. There are more important things in the world than the size of your body.

If size was all that mattered, even in the world of entertainment, there would be no Whoopi Goldberg, no Queen Latifah, no Nicky Blonski or Adele. There is no one who can find fault with them because they are comfortable and confident in their looks and they carry them well.

Shobha De, Indian columnist and novelist says, “The role models being held up are Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham but our body frames are different - we have wider hips and curves - so this whole business of looking desperately skinny two weeks after giving birth is a western import."

Well we say, let Aishwarya enjoy motherhood. Watch her on the red carpet at Cannes and applaud her for representing her country. Move beyond appearances and let’s concentrate on things that matter.

But most importantly, realize that it is time we stop degrading women by judging them by their sizes. Let’s stop insulting them and give them some well-deserved respect!

To Aishwarya Rai Bachan, our message is to be who she is, look the way she wants to look, be comfortable in whom you are. Get out there and rule the day!

And don’t forget what Oprah Winfrey so aptly said,

“Step Away from the Mean Girls…
…and say bye-bye to feeling bad about your looks.
Are you ready to stop colluding with a culture that makes so many of us feel physically inadequate? Say goodbye to your inner critic, and take this pledge to be kinder to yourself and others. “