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‘Made 2…shades lighter’: Sameera Reddy recalls toxic Bollywood beauty standards

Sanjeev Kumar | July 17, 2026 8:22 PM CST

Bollywood actor recently opened up about the unrealistic beauty standards she faced during her debut film, Maine Dil Tujhko Diya. In an interview with Hauterrfly, she revealed, "In my first film...I was made two to three shades lighter" with makeup and asked to wear padded bras. The film, which marked her Bollywood debut alongside , was released in 2002.

'The confusion with what I had to represent...'

Reddy also questioned society's definition of beauty, saying, "Do you know how many women have it in their own families?"

"Her own parents and in-laws say, 'You're dark or fat.' What the hell! Who has given the definition of beauty?"

She admitted that it took her over two decades to accept herself.

"The confusion with what I had to represent, what I'm selling, and who I am, I have to say it was only in my 40s that...I broke it!"

'It took me 20 years because for...'

Reflecting on her struggles with self-image, Reddy said, "It took me 20 years because for all these years, I was wearing only padded bras, bum pads, and colored lenses."

She also shared that she faced body shaming early in her career.

"I was always 'pleasantly plump' since my childhood...When I lost weight, I was told, 'Your bum is flat.' Today, I can laugh about it."

'Even the dress designers told me right from the start...'

Reddy revealed that the pressure to change her appearance came from the film crew.

"Even the dress designers told me right from the start that I had to do something about it. So, all my outfits had built-in bras with pads."

"I was told so many times, 'How much can we try with the pads, Sameera? Just do something about it. What is it going to take, anyway?'"