Malavika Mohanan exposes South industry's 'navel obsession', shares her experience

Actor Malavika Mohanan recalled being body-shamed in both the South Indian and the Hindi film industry. She also talked about the South Indian industry's 'naval' obsession.

In Short

• Malavika Mohanan discussed South cinema's navel obsession
• She recalled being body-shamed in both Southern and Hindi films
• Mohanan felt perplexed by the industry's focus on navels

Actor Malavika Mohanan, in an interview, talked about the 'naval obsession' of the South Indian film industry. The 31-year-old recalled being body-shamed in both Southern cinema and the Hindi film industry. Mohanan, who was recently seen in 'Thangalaan', said she wouldn't know how to react to people commenting on her physique earlier.

The actor spoke in an interview with Hauterfly and said, "I used to be very perplexed earlier, too, because I’ve grown up in Mumbai. It was a completely new phenomenon that navels are obsessed over so much. And then you’d see pictures of actresses on social media, where they zoom into their bodies. Navel obsession is a very real thing."

She also mentioned that she would often juggle between looking a little curvier or lean while picking roles in both Bollywood and the South. "When I did my first film, I was 21 at that time. I was trolled so much for being skinny. My body changed in my mid-20s. That’s when I got a little curvier. I was trolled so badly, and it was harsh! It really affected me," she said.

Mohanan went on to talk about the criticism that she received for her appearance. "I got called things like skin on bones, go get some weight these are still polite things. There were some degrading things as well. When you make a person feel bad about their body at an impressionable age, it is not a good thing, you are just bullying them," she explained.

Malavika Mohanan will next be seen alongside Prabhas in the Telugu film 'The Raja Saab', and Karthi in the Tamil film 'Sardar 2.