For actor Neha Dhupia, self-love has played a central role in her life. But the turning point was when she became a mother. “I’m baffled by the beauty of how my body changes when I become a mum. Yes, postpartum bodies are a real thing and you have to own up to it. Just like how every body is different, similarly, every postpartum body is also different,” she tells us during a shoot with HT City Showstoppers.

Motherhood is known to come with responsibilities and less time to look after oneself. But for Dhupia, the chapter helped her elevate her style. “When you are in your 20s, you are looking around and following trends. But I feel like once you are in your 40s, you get very comfortable in your skin. My current style is comfortable and mildly androgynous because I like collars. I prefer basic and tone-on-tone palettes. But every once in a while, I shock myself by wearing fuchsia pink. With motherhood, my style has become practically fashionable but it hasn’t drastically changed. When I’m with my kids, a classic white shirt, a pair of denims and shoes are my go to,” adds the 43-year-old.

Dhupia, a mother of two, is not one to shy away from sporting grey hair. “I was born with a birthmark on the left side of my head so I had grey hair since then. I never coloured it because I didn’t see anything wrong with the fact that I had a natural grey streak. It is just that people have started taking note of it now,” the Sanak (2021) actor explains.

She feels that self-love does not come from being selfish, but from being selfless. “You’re a better person when you indulge in yourself a little bit. There should be no guilt or sorrow in taking time out for yourself because you’re just working towards being better,” Dhupia continues.

Accepting one’s body, according to her, is a long journey. “Over time, you learn how to love your body and live in it. Strangely, in most cases, a lot of people learn how to do that much later in life,” she wraps up.