Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu has opened up about the intense trolling and body-shaming she faced after welcoming her daughter, Devi, in 2022.
In a new cover interview with Elle India, Basu discussed the unrealistic expectations placed on women’s bodies after childbirth and criticized the pressure to quickly return to a pre-pregnancy appearance.
The actor, who has long been associated with fitness and healthy living, said women are often expected to immediately regain the bodies they had when they were younger, regardless of their age or individual circumstances.
Unrealistic expectations after childbirth
Basu said society continues to have unrealistic expectations of women following pregnancy and childbirth.
“The conversation around women’s bodies is quite bizarre even now,” she said, arguing that women are often expected to return to the shape they had in their twenties even when they give birth in their forties.
According to Basu, the standards applied to younger women are frequently imposed on older women as well.
She said women who do not quickly “bounce back” after childbirth can face severe online criticism and trolling.
The actor emphasized that recovering after giving birth is not simply a matter of appearance. Women may simultaneously be dealing with the demands of caring for a newborn, managing their lifestyle and handling personal responsibilities.
Bipasha recalls major online trolling
Basu, who welcomed her first child with husband Karan Singh Grover on November 12, 2022, recalled facing significant criticism after becoming a mother.
She also spoke about the role of paparazzi photographs in shaping public conversations around celebrities’ appearances.
“I went through major, major trolling. A few insensitive paps took really bizarre pictures of me,” Basu said.
The actor suggested that such images can encourage further scrutiny without providing any context about what a woman may be experiencing at the time.
She said people often fail to recognize the effort involved in caring for a baby while simultaneously managing everyday responsibilities and personal pressures.
“They don’t see how much effort the woman must be putting in, how much they have to do with a baby, with their life, with their lifestyle and also their personal pressures,” she said.
‘Everybody expects you to bounce back’
Basu said the pressure on women does not always take into account the physical and emotional changes that can accompany motherhood.
She argued that public expectations often focus almost entirely on appearance rather than the broader experience of becoming a mother.
“Nobody really cares. Everybody expects you to bounce back,” she said.
Her comments highlight the wider conversation surrounding postpartum body image and the pressure faced by women in the public eye.
For celebrities, the scrutiny can become particularly intense because photographs and comments about their appearance can quickly spread across social media platforms.
Basu says trolling cannot break her
Despite the criticism she experienced, Basu said she remains confident in herself and does not allow online reactions to determine her personal choices.
“I’m an extremely confident person, so no kind of trolling can break me,” she said.
The actor explained that she understands her own journey and knows what effort she needs to put in and when she needs to do it.
Rather than responding to external expectations, Basu said she prefers to follow her own timeline.
“I know what my journey is, I know what work I need to put in, when I need to put it in, and I will go with that,” she said.
She added that outside opinions ultimately do not matter to her.
A message about women’s body image
Basu’s remarks come amid continuing discussions about how women are judged for their appearance, particularly after pregnancy.
Her experience illustrates how public figures can face intense scrutiny during major life changes, with social media often amplifying criticism about weight, fitness and physical appearance.
The actor’s comments also challenge the idea that women should be expected to immediately return to their pre-pregnancy bodies.
For Basu, the priority is following her own journey rather than meeting expectations created by others.
Her decision to speak openly about the experience adds her voice to a broader discussion about postpartum body image, unrealistic beauty standards and the need for greater understanding of the pressures women face after childbirth.
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