Hyderabad: Amid Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt's recent defence against botox rumours, a throwback video of late actor Sridevi denying undergoing cosmetic injections has resurfaced, sparking renewed discussion about the intense scrutiny women in the film industry face.
The clip shows Sridevi being questioned by an interviewer who directly asks if she used injections to maintain her youthful appearance, saying, "The whole script I have is that you take injections to keep yourself young." Sridevi, visibly taken aback, pauses before calmly responding, "No, not at all." She goes on to describe her approach to beauty, highlighting her commitment to "natural beauty" as her defining philosophy.
This video, re-emerging amid Alia Bhatt's own controversy, has struck a chord as it parallels Alia's recent denial of claims suggesting she had botox procedures go wrong. On Friday, Alia addressed trolls on Instagram, stating, "Absolutely NO JUDGEMENT towards anyone who chooses cosmetic corrections or surgery - your body, your choice. But wow, this is beyond ridiculous!"
She criticised the baseless claims that she was "paralysed on one side," calling out the toxic nature of such speculation. "This is your hypercritical, microscopic judgment of a human face… These are SERIOUS claims being casually thrown out there with zero proof," she wrote, emphasising how such unfounded rumours can influence "young, impressionable minds" who may take these narratives seriously.
Alia didn't hold back in her criticism of how women's appearances are continually dissected and judged online, even going as far as to say, "Let's take a minute to address the absurd lens through which women are judged and objectified on the internet - our faces, bodies, personal lives, even our bumps (!!) are up for critique." She called on society to appreciate individuality, rather than uphold unrealistic beauty standards that leave people feeling like they're never "enough." Alia also expressed her frustration at how this judgment often comes from other women, questioning, "Whatever happened to 'live and let live'?"
The connection between Sridevi and Alia's situations serves as a powerful reminder of the pressure to conform to public expectations and the scrutiny both actors have faced for their appearances. Both actors, despite their contrasting eras, have dealt with rumours of cosmetic enhancements they've firmly denied. For Sridevi, the video underscores a more conservative time in Bollywood when beauty expectations were equally demanding but often unspoken. For Alia, this public conversation takes place in the context of an era where social media amplifies both admiration and criticism to an extreme degree.
