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Amid Katrina Kaif’s postpartum body-shaming, Radhikka Madan recalls her own struggles with weight and how constant criticism took a toll on her health.
Radhikka Madan Recalls Facing Body-Shaming, Says She Was Called ‘Too Fat’: ‘Heroine Kaise Banegi Ye?’
Bollywood actress Radhikka Madan recently opened up about the pressure women face to look a certain way and how constant comments about her body affected her own health. Extending her support to Katrina Kaif, who recently faced criticism over her postpartum weight, Radhikka spoke about her personal experiences with body-shaming and the unrealistic expectations placed on women in the entertainment industry. She recalled how her weight became a subject of discussion at a time when she was working on multiple films. The experience eventually forced her to rethink her priorities and understand that trying to please everyone was taking a toll on her well-being.
Radhikka Madan Recalls Being Judged For Her Weight
In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Radhikka revealed that her weight changed significantly while preparing for different film roles. She gained around 15 kilos for her 2018 film Pataakha and later worked towards losing that weight while shooting for Shiddat and Angrezi Medium.
“I had gained 15 kgs for Pataakha, and I was losing that weight through Shiddat and Angrezi Medium. I was told that I was ‘too fat. Heroine kaise banegi ye’,” she recalled.
Radhikka said she continued losing weight while working on back-to-back projects until she became extremely thin. The process began affecting her health, so she decided to take a break.
“I kept losing weight and shooting back-to-back, and fully became like bones. It started affecting my health, so I took a break,” she said.
Radhikka shared how difficult it was to meet expectations that kept changing. When she weighed more, she was criticised for being too fat. After losing weight, she was told she was too thin.
‘I Started Focusing On Feeling Healthy’, Says Radhikka
The constant criticism eventually led Radhikka to question why she was putting herself through so much pressure to satisfy others. She realised that no matter how much her appearance changed, there would always be someone ready to criticise it. That understanding helped her shift her focus from achieving a particular body size to taking care of her health.
“I asked myself why am I trying to please people when they will never be happy? So, I started focusing on feeling healthy rather than chasing a particular body size. Once you do that, others’ opinions don’t affect you as you become wiser. You don’t know what insecurity they [critiques] are coming from. But I have that security of knowing that now, I am chasing health,” she said.
Radhikka Madan On The Pressure To Look Perfect
She also spoke about how beauty standards can affect young girls, particularly in an age when social media plays such a major role in shaping perceptions about one’s appearance.
Radhikka recalled having a unibrow and facial hair during her school years. She explained that magazine covers and popular images of women often presented a particular look as the standard, making it easy for girls who did not fit that image to feel inadequate.
“I find the idea of loving yourself a bit too cliché, but you have to accept yourself and have fun. Find your own quirks. In school, I even had a unibrow and was really hairy, but because my parenting was quite positive, I was hyped so much that I felt people don’t realise but I am beautiful. I had friends but I never felt the need for their validation to be seen. So, even when my unibrow went away, and people started noticing me, I judged them because I felt the same as before,” she said.
On the professional front, Radhikka Madan was last seen in the Netflix anthology film ‘Lust Stories 3’, which premiered on September 18, 2026.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Radhikka Madan revealed that she faced harsh criticism regarding her weight, being called ‘too fat’ after gaining 15 kilos for her 2018 film Pataakha and later being called too thin after losing weight for back-to-back projects like Shiddat and Angrezi Medium. The constant criticism eventually led her to take a break and shift her focus from chasing a particular body size to feeling healthy.
Ask News18October 12, 2026, 18:39 IST