Bollywood star and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, frequently heralded as the
Bollywood star and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, frequently heralded as the world’s most beautiful woman, was criticised last year for failing to lose her baby weight after the birth of her first child.
Fans said the Indian model-turned-actress, 39, had let her country down, with people commenting on a YouTube video about her fuller figure, saying ‘she is a Bollywood actress and it is her duty to look good and fit’, and ‘she needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery’.
But it appears that women in India now wish to emulate Rai’s curves, and those of fellow Bollywood actresses such as Vidya Balan and Sonakshi Sinha.
Doctors have warned that some are even taking dangerous, steroid-based ‘fat pills’ in order to gain weight, pills that can cause liver and kidney damage, osteoporosis, and even loss of sight.
One consultant kidney specialist told The Sunday Times young people were being influenced to change their body shapes by celebrities.
Sanjeev Bagai said: ‘Young women want to look more feminine and gain curves in specific places.’