TEAM WSL
In a recent interaction with Rajeev Masand, Shaheen Bhatt opened up on events which triggered her depression. An event that particularly stands out for Shaheen was when she was asked to step aside from a photoshoot for being “overweight” and “dark”. Even to this date, Shaheen Bhatt, the elder sister of Alia Bhatt, finds that event crippling.
The interviewer asked Shaheen,
“Once you and Alia, your younger sister went to a photoshoot with your elder sister, Pooja Bhatt and at some point the photographer asked you to leave the picture because the two of them looked similar, they were fair, cute and you were dark having spent too much time in the sun and you were a little overweight. And you said that till date, looking at those pictures cripples you emotionally,”
She responded
“It is making me uncomfortable right now, the fact that you are talking about it, is making me uncomfortable. I think women in general suffer from a lot of body image and lot of things we are told by media, by ourselves, it is a problem in general. Self worth is definitely… shame is definitely a cause for depression, it can be for any reason.”
She added,
“With women, body image tends to also be one of the causes for shame. Many other causes as well. Shame is central. I wish people can understand that shame is central to any feeling of depression and any feeling of sadness and it stops you from being vulnerable. You constantly fear that if you will show yourself as you are, you will be rejected by society.”
“My self-worth was definitely affected as I was at an age where the seeds of that were being sown in me. I was just trying to figure out who I was and obviously when something like this happens to you at such an unsure and uncertain time in your life, it sort of reinforces that and sets in stone in a way,” said Shaheen.
Shaheen is the elder daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actress Soni Razdan. She is four years older to Alia.
