Malavika Mohanan opens up about body shaming and 'navel obsession' in South films: They zoom into their bodies...

Malvaika Mohanan on navel obssession

In a recent interview, actor Malavika Mohanan discussed the harsh realities of body shaming in the film industry, highlighting the particular difficulties she has encountered in both Hindi and South Indian cinema.

The Thangalaan actress talked openly about how her upbringing in Mumbai had not prepared her for the subtle cultural differences she faced when she started working in the South in an interview with Hauterfly.

"I used to be very perplexed earlier, too, because I’ve grown up in Mumbai. It was a completely new phenomenon that navels are obsessed over so much. And then you’d see pictures of actresses on social media, where they zoom into their bodies. Navel obsession is a very real thing," she remarked, highlighting what she described as an unusual fixation within the industry.

Malavika, now 31, also recalled being body-shamed throughout different phases of her career. She noted how her physical appearance became a point of scrutiny, regardless of how she looked. “When I did my first film, I was 21 at that time. I was trolled so much for being skinny. My body changed in my mid-20s. That’s when I got a little curvier. I was trolled so badly, and it was harsh! It really affected me,” she shared.

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Switching between Bollywood and South Indian cinema, the actor admitted she often felt the need to adjust her physique depending on the roles she pursued. This, she said, created a cycle of unhealthy pressure. “I got called things like skin on bones, go get some weight these are still polite things. There were some degrading things as well. When you make a person feel bad about their body at an impressionable age, it is not a good thing, you are just bullying them,” she added.

Regarding her career, Malavika is preparing for two eagerly awaited films: Sardar 2, opposite Karthi in Tamil, and The Raja Saab, costarring Prabhas in Telugu.