Despite being one of the biggest movie stars in Bollywood and giving numerous noteworthy performances over the years, Kareena Kapoor Khan is absolutely #chill. When we meet her, she’s lounging on the sofa of her vanity van, minus makeup and any other frills. And that’s reflected in her social media account too. She doesn’t believe in filters or posting touched-up pictures: “I am on Instagram because it’s pictorial and I like it. I enjoy keeping my page pretty real. I am also a private person. I am doing as much as I can. You will see a little bit of our family.”

The actor, who is currently awaiting the release of her next film, is also aware of the scrutiny every word and every picture of hers goes through. One such picture sparked rumours of her being pregnant. The mother of two shot it down in her own style, and wrote, “It’s pasta and wine guys”, on her Stories. “That picture was morphed!” she laughs when we bring it up. “My tummy looked like that? I went like, ‘Oh my God! Maybe it’s the wine and pasta. I don’t know!’ I had been on a 40-day vacation. I lost count of how many pizzas I had eaten. That’s it,” she adds.

Isn’t it problematic that the moment a woman puts on weight, the first assumption people have is that she is expecting? Khan agrees and questions the intention behind such assumptions. “What do they mean by saying, ‘Is she pregnant? Is she having another baby?’,” she says, adding, “Am I some machine? Leave the choice to me, na!”

Khan, who has a film directed by Sujoy Ghosh, another one with Rhea Kapoor and one with Hansal Mehta, in the pipeline, adds, “That’s why I wrote that Insta note. Listen, we (actors) are also human beings, just like all of you. Keeping it real. I am an actor who has, in fact, been the most honest! I was working in the fattest stage of my life when I was eight-nine months pregnant. I am somebody who doesn’t hide anything, and doesn’t say I’m always going to be perfect. Everybody is allowed to lead their lives their way.”