Radhikka Madan: ‘I was told I was too fat, heroine kaise banegi ye’: Radhikka Madan supports Katrina Kaif amid post-partum body shaming, recalls changing beauty standards forced her to prioritize health over weight loss after gaining ’15 kg Pataakha’ | Hindi Movie News

Actress Radhikka Madan has spoken out about the pressure women face to meet changing beauty standards, voicing her support for Katrina Kaif amid scrutiny over her post-baby weight gain. Recalling her experience in the film industry, Radhikka said she was told she was “too fat” to be a heroine after gaining 15 kg for ‘Pataakha’. The actor revealed that the repeated attempts to lose weight while shooting for the series began to affect his health, which made him put his life ahead of other people’s expectations.

Radhikka Madan remembers being called ‘too fat’ to be a heroine

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Radhikka opened up about how the expectations of a leading lady’s appearance affected her relationship with her body. After gaining 15 kg for ‘Pataakha’, she started losing weight while working on ‘Shiddat’ and ‘Angrezi Medium’. Despite her efforts, she remembers being criticized for her appearance.“I was 15 kgs overweight for ‘Pataakha’, and I lost that weight for ‘Shiddat’ and ‘Angrezi Medium’. I was told ‘I’m too fat. Heroine kaise banengi ye’. (How will you become an actress?) I kept losing weight and shooting back, and I’m completely bony.The experience made Radhikka question why she was trying so hard to meet the ever-changing expectations. He said that he was first considered to be too heavy and ended up being thin which left him with the feeling that there is no way to please everyone.“Before I was very fat, now I am very thin, and in the middle, I was not here and not there, I asked myself why I try to make people happy when they will never be happy? Once you do that, other people’s opinions don’t affect you as you are wise. You don’t know what their insecurities are [critics] they appear. But I have that protection to know that now, I am chasing life,” said Madan.

Radhikka Madan says society’s perception of the ‘perfect woman’ puts pressure on girls

Radhikka also spoke about how difficult it can be to ignore comments about one’s appearance, especially for young girls who may look to social media and popular culture for validation. She said society tends to promote a narrow view of what a woman should look like, which puts pressure on her to conform to certain beauty standards from childhood.“Us time pe aisa hota nahi hai because we have this well-made mind and this burden, especially for girls, about what should look like and what is the perfect size. And if you don’t fit that, you are wrong. That situation comes from childhood as you only see women like that on the covers of magazines. So, if I sit in a class with a unibrow and a woman who may feel that I am not sensible enough, I will not see that I am not sensible enough. The perfect woman is fed to us,” said Madan.What the actress said highlights how repeated exposure to limited beauty can influence how a person views themselves. He pointed out that girls who do not see themselves reflected in these goals may grow up feeling that something needs to be changed in the way they look.

‘You have to accept yourself’: Radhikka Madan on embracing her personality

Radhikka said that while the concept of self-love may sound clichéd, self-acceptance and finding confidence in one’s individuality is important. She also credited her upbringing for helping her feel comfortable with how she looked at a young age.“I find the idea of ​​self-love easy, but you have to accept yourself and be happy. Find things to explore in yourself. At school, I even had a unibrow and I was really hairy, but because my parent had a good opinion, I was deceived to the point that I felt like people didn’t see but I was beautiful. I had friends but I didn’t feel the need for their validation to be seen. Therefore, even after my gout is gone, people started to see me, I judged them because I felt the same as before,” she said.Madan added, “But be on this journey to find yourself, your place, and start by accepting yourself because you are like a snowflake.”His comments come amid criticism of Katrina Kaif’s post-baby appearance. By expressing solidarity with Katrina, Radhikka has drawn attention to the scrutiny women can face over the changes in their bodies, including those associated with pregnancy and childbirth.

Radhikka Madan’s earlier work

Radhikka Madan stars as Sailee opposite Ali Fazal, who plays Varun in Shakun Batra’s Netflix anthology ‘Lust Stories 3’. The segment explores the emotional and physical conflict between a married couple who find it difficult to communicate their desires directly, using intimacy as the primary language of their unspoken feelings. The film premiered on September 18, 2026.