Mumbai: Swara Bhasker has spoken candidly about the online abuse she faced over her appearance after marriage and motherhood, pushing back against social-media users who criticised her weight and appearance.
The actor said the trolling became particularly harsh after her marriage to Fahad Ahmad and the birth of their daughter. She recalled being subjected to comments about her body and appearance, including remarks linking her weight to her marriage.
In a podcast conversation, Swara questioned why strangers felt entitled to comment on her body.
“Are you guys so free? Why are you so worried about someone else’s weight? My life isn’t running because of you. If you want to see a ‘sexy’ girl, please go to other pages. Who asked you to come to my page anyway?” she said.
Swara Bhasker on how motherhood changed her body
Swara said becoming a mother naturally brought changes to her body and perspective.
“I had a baby two and a half years ago. A woman’s body goes through many changes after becoming a mother,” she said.
She also spoke about the entertainment industry’s fixation with remaining youthful, pointing to the normalisation of cosmetic procedures and treatments.
“I come from an industry that is obsessed with maintaining youth forever. I know that things like Botox, injections, and plastic surgery are considered normal here. But that’s not the truth. As time passes, life changes, and it’s supposed to,” Swara said.
Her comments highlight a broader conversation around the pressure placed on women in the public eye to maintain a particular appearance even as their lives and circumstances change.
“A woman becomes very sensitive after having a child”
Swara also reflected on how motherhood can affect a woman’s emotional experience.
“Just think, how would you feel if a 45-year-old acted like a 16-year-old? You would be the first to call her ‘aunty’ and troll her for trying too hard. I have heard some really bad things. A woman becomes very sensitive after having a child,” she said.
The actor recalled facing particularly intense scrutiny during the period when she campaigned alongside her husband. She said she often appeared without makeup at the time, and photographs from that period were subsequently circulated widely online.
“I was humiliated a lot while campaigning with my husband. I used to go without any makeup during that time. The photos clicked then went viral on social media. Everyone knows what happened after that,” she recalled.
Swara refuses to change her body for trolls
The actor said the comparisons between older and newer photographs became another source of online abuse.
“People started comparing my old and new photos. They began saying I became fat and dirty because I married a Muslim man. This even made my husband, Fahad, tense,” she said.
Rather than allowing the criticism to determine how she looks or presents herself, Swara said she has no intention of changing her body to satisfy online commentators.
“I am also very stubborn. I am not going to lose weight because of your criticism. In fact, I will share more ‘chubby’ photos on Instagram,” she said.
She added that women working in the entertainment industry and elsewhere regularly encounter different forms of pressure surrounding their appearance.
Swara Bhasker calls out appearance-based expectations
Swara’s comments come amid continuing discussions about body image and the expectations placed on women in the public eye.
For actors, scrutiny can become particularly intense because photographs, appearances and social-media posts are constantly discussed and compared. Swara’s response makes clear that she does not believe an actor’s body should be treated as public property simply because they work in the entertainment industry.
Her refusal to lose weight because of trolling also reflects her larger argument: bodies change, particularly after major life experiences such as pregnancy, and those changes should not automatically become subjects of public ridicule.
