Anushka Sharma says she was worried if she would ‘hate her body’ after giving birth to Vamika

Anushka Sharma, who welcomed daughter Vamika with Virat Kohli in January, opened up about the societal beauty standards women are expected to live up to before pregnancy and after giving birth. She talked about how she was worried about hating her postpartum body.

In an interview, Anushka talked about how she is comfortable in her skin now, when her body is ‘not as toned’ as it was before. She revealed her conversation with Virat while showing him a bunch of her old pictures.

Speaking to Grazia, Anushka said, “Only a week ago, I was telling a friend how afraid I was because of this pressure that’s thrust upon women to look a certain way, even before they become mothers, before they get pregnant, and definitely after they’ve had a baby. Despite being somebody who is fairly self-aware, I was worried. I kept thinking – am I going to hate my body?”

“My body’s not as it used to be; it’s not as toned as it was. And I’m working towards it because I like to be fit. Having said that, I am so much more comfortable in my skin today than I was before, even when I had that ‘perfect body’. I’ve realised that it’s a state of mind, it has nothing to do with how you look. I remember showing Virat some old photos of mine, and talking about how nice I looked back then and he said, ‘You know, this is what you do. You look at these pictures in hindsight and say you were looking so nice. But when I tell you in the moment that it’s a great picture, you say aah it’s okay’,” she added.

Also see: Anushka Sharma calls first trimester of her pregnancy ‘awful’, says Virat Kohli supported and cheered her on

Anushka said that she no longer scrutinises her pictures the way she used to and has embraced the way she looks. She added that she does not want Vamika to feel that ‘sense of lacking’ that women are made to feel.

Anushka, who has acted in films such as Band Baaja Baaraat, Dil Dhadakne Do and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, was last seen on the big screen in Zero (2018). While she has not yet announced her next project as an actor, she has been busy with her brand endorsements and production ventures under her banner Clean Slate Filmz.