Actor Gauahar Khan, 39, who gave birth to her son in May, recently revealed she shed 10kg of her post-delivery weight in just 10 days. After she posted a picture of herself on Insta, many fans called it unhealthy and said it set unrealistic standards for new mums. Coming to her defence is actor Surveen Chawla, who believes it’s nobody’s business how or when a new mother loses her pregnancy weight.

The 38-year-old says, “It’s bizarre to discuss a person’s weight. Motherhood has just hit them and whether you lose 10kgs in 10 days or 100 days, it has nothing to do with that.”

The actor, who herself became a mother in April 2019, stresses that a “woman’s body undergoes a lot of changes during pregnancy and as they enter a new phase in life”. This isn’t the first time an actor’s post-pregnancy weight gain has become a topic of conversation as actors such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Neha Dhupia have faced trolling as well.

The Rana Naidu actor believes people need to be more sensitive towards new mums before judging their bodies. She says, “As actors, we can influence the world, but people need to understand that social media is far more influential than us. You can criticize us, our work and relationships, it’s fine, because we are in the public eye. But [talking about] a woman’s body, at a time when she has gone through an unfathomable change, is stooping to a new low.”

Mother to two toddlers, actor Debina Bonnerjee says, “Gauahar was able to lose weight because her body allowed her to shed fat easily. I’m sure she didn’t starve herself to achieve it. We’re in no place to criticize a woman if they’ve lost weight or haven’t been able to. You won’t understand what their journey is until you’ve experienced it. I was badly criticized when I couldn’t shed my pregnancy weight as I had a different pregnancy and recovery. People need to understand and respect that.

Actor Charu Asopa, mum to a one-year-old girl, says, “There’s no harm in losing weight if you can achieve it through healthy ways. Uske liye crazy ho jaana is not good. Moreover, it differs from person-to-person, because we all have different body types. For me, it wasn’t easy, but for someone else, it might be. But this topic doesn’t require a discussion. We can’t be criticizing anyone for losing or gaining weight.

Inputs by Syeda Eba Fatima