Actress Mrunal Thakur, who is currently making waves in the south film industry, has recently opened up on how she has been bodyshamed in the film industry time and again, and how once somebody even told her that she was not "sexy" enough.
Mrunal stated that she was tired of explaining to Bollywood filmmakers about why they should cast her in a particular project. "They will cast me, give me opportunities, but they are not as good as Sita or Yashna or Sonia, when I started. I don’t want to settle for anything less anymore," the Hi Nanna actress said.
She went on to reveal that she once met "somebody" who told her, "You are not sexy at all". When she asked if he was talking about the character or her as a person, he said that the character was sexy but she he didn't see her "anywhere close".
She also narrated a shocking incident that followed. "I said in the case, do a look test sir and we did that. When the photographer entered, he didn’t see me as that character and said in Marathi, ‘Who is this village girl?’ Later he apologised."
The Sita Ramam actress averred that she prefers to be "neutral" while starting a project so that the makers can mould her into those characters easily. " When you talk about being ‘sexy’, I mean when I say that even the dead skin of my toe feels sexy to me. Sexy is a conversation you can have, but how many people can do that?" she asked.
Mrunal shared that people also asked her to lose weight when she did a song. "I told them, ‘Listen, I have thick thighs and I own them. If I am not uncomfortable, why are you feeling that?’ There are of course makers who appreciate this. Primarily, I want to be a clay so that makers give me a shape they want for my character," she explained.
On the work front, Mrunal has carved a niche for herself down south, with films like Sita Ramam and the recently-released Hi Nanna. In Bollywood, Mrunal has been a part of films like Jersey and Pippa, among others.
