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May 3, 2008

Meat is neat + Glamour Bazaar video

As mentioned earlier, participated in the CNN-IBN show, Glamour Bazaar India that aired May 2nd. I can't seem to be able to embed the video, so click THIS to see the video. OR
Glamour Bazaar India

Early reactions from friends and family:
1. Gigo (in chatbox): You weren't as fidgety!
2. Friend on g-talk: Your eyebrows didn't squiggle as much.
3. another friend: Why do you look as if you're scolding everyone?
4. Mom: You looked 'fairer' in the NDTV show, kaalo lagche (looking darker). You did not tell me you have put on weight? (WHAT?!!!)
5. Partner: No baby, you have not put on weight, you look healthy. (THAT means I've put on weight) No, no baby, you have not put on weight and your arm does NOT look thick.

And now... Meat is neat!
From ibnlive.com story Kareena size zero: Hot or not?
Each time I think of Kareena's new look in Tashan, am reminded of what my thamma (paternal grandma) said about skinny women: "Na agaa, na paachha" (agaa = front, meaning boobs; paachha = backside, butt!!!) And must say, she's kinda right!
A white shirt with jeans and boots (or any other footwear) is one of the never-fail, anytime, anywhere outfit that any woman, irrespective of her body size can safely wear. From cocktail parties, the beach, a college reunion or out clubbing, jeans and a white shirt will never let a woman down. The outfit perhaps is also the saving grace of Kareena Kapoor's super-thin avatar in her latest dud, Tashan.

From an actress who looked positively thick in the Don item song—her thunder thighs could have given south Indian actress Rambha a run for her money—to someone who perhaps needs special camera angles to find curves, Kareena has changed. But is it for the better? One look at the Tashan poster with all four characters ‘ishtylishly’ strutting and two things stood out: One, Kareena is holding the assault rifle somewhat awkwardly and two, you can see her ribs.

If one were to choose a personal Kareena favourite in so far as her 'look' is concerned, it would have to be Yuva. In flowing skirts, peasant blouses, flip-flops and with her eyes thickly kohl-lined, Kareena looked beautiful. She didn't have her current chiseled cheekbones either—first seen on the cover of Maxim—but looked radiant. Even in a simple salwar kameez, with a single plait and kajal, she looked perfect as Dolly Mishra in Omkara.
Somehow, simplicity suits Kareena much more than ‘tashan’. Consider her glamour doll avatars, whether as the always-wears-glitter Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham or as the navel-showing, tattooed Kaurwaki in Asoka, Kareena was never thin, always pretty. In Hulchul or the horrendous Yaadein, she is positively cherubic but manages to woo the audience with a freshness to her looks. Her chubbiness made her endearing.
Now, despite it being touted as oh-so-hot, her waif thin look leaves something to be desired... There's a certain meatiness that is missing. It's ironic that Kareena's Tashan look is being lauded by some since it was the same body type that got once-upon-a-time newcomer Amrita Arora to be called "too thin for a Bollywood actress." Bollywood's double standards or simply a marketing ploy to sell Kareena's new looks? And is the viewer buying the new look?
The Indian audience, male and female, has preferred its women with meat on their bones. One look at the list of yesteryear heroines and the only name that pops up as 'thin' is Saira Banu. But she never reached the popularity levels of a Mumtaz (slim but never skinny) or even an Asha Parekh (by no means slim and rather bottom-heavy). Even actresses later in the day, be it Rekha, Sridevi, Jaya Prada and Madhuri Dixit were well-proportioned. Think Kimi Katkar and you'd know that even most 'sex symbols' were more on the healthier side than on the skinny.
Perhaps it's unfair to compare Kareena's current looks to those of the yesteryear heroines; times have changed and so perhaps have priorities. But has the allure of a well-endowed chest and a curvaceous butt changed as well? Afraid not and a check on Kareena competitors will tell you so. Whether it's Katrina Kaif—who recently made an appearance for an IPL match and looked beautiful in jeans and a loose IPL tee shirt—or other actresses like Vidya Balan, Bipasha Basu or even Aiswarya Rai, none of them are skinny and yet all have a 'wholesome' figure. A look at the international figure scenario and you'd realise that waif-thin figures of either a Victoria 'Posh Spice' Beckham or once-popular Calista 'Ally McBeal' Flockhart have never won popularity votes. The full-figured Scarlet Johannson and Angelina Jolie though always score high on having desirable body frames. Recently too, tennis's favourite poster girl Anna Kournikova made headlines for having lost her curves. To Kareena's credit, she has been something of a style icon and it would perhaps be sensible of her to check in with her audience and see what they have to say. Initial reactions say her new look is more style, less substance!

What do you guys think: Skin(ny) is in or meat is neat?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like moms reaction :D.And I like the show and wish it had a second part or just stuck to one or two issues.And if they had put a camera on the other side too.If the host talked bit more clearly.Also they could have displayed the blog link somewhere!hmm.
About you:Blue looks better than kaki on TV.You made others smile/laugh,but did not do that yourself.Were respectful when others cut your words unlike the other lady writer/blogger in black.
And good to listen to how you really say "What the hell".

Thats all for now.

Oh yea,meat is neat.

Anonymous said...

As far a Kareena is concerned,it could be a look she wanted or her director wanted for the movie.Whats the big issue here i dont understand.Remember the movies like Monster and Bridget Jones where the actors changed their figure to fit in the character.Maybe this is the start of such wave in Bollywood?

Anonymous said...

You do notice a lot dont you! ;) As for not smiling, was too busy keeping track of who was saying what why and how not to sound stupid.
wrt Kareena, would agree that perhaps her director demanded it... The big issue is how her weight loss -- with the professional advice -- can trigger a "trend" that has women trying for the look, unhealthily. Spice Girls in the UK and their sudden weight loss had triggered something similar and I think the group apologised for starting a 'negative' trend too. Remember Aamir Khan's spiked hair looked from Dil Chahta Hai? Within two days of the movie releasing you had boys changing their hairstyles. DrAnup Dhir from Apollo - cosmetic surgeon - will tell you how men come to him to 'get' Hrithik's abs... Kareena is one of the leading ladies we have today and one who is seen as a style icon. Her friend, actress Amrita Arora is already following in Bebo's footsteps. Achieving a certain body type through healthy means isn't bad...but what about those who dont have the means and simply ape with disastrous consequences?

To give some credit to Kareena, she did put on weight for Omkara. Actors experimenting with their looks is a healthy phenomenon and should be encouraged. Perhaps we in the media need to portray it as such and not as THE look to have either. Hmm...

Jab I Write.... said...

i agree with u there jhoomur! since d media plays a big influence on impressionable minds....lets not tout kareena's healthy/unhealthily engineered look as an epitome...there are millions of women who are well endowed and content in their own frames.the idea is to be healthy and happy and not a wannabe.lets admit it, if we were paid dat kind of money for looking like dat, it wud have been worth it but since we arent in d business we should rather stick to r own frame

Ria

Shruti said...

you are so honest!and smart.and spunky.you are like a new age female icon atleast for me.and *ahem* dont mind me saying, but i think u have put on a little weight after the ndtv show.

Anonymous said...

Hello Ria!
First time participator, very nice and thankyou for taking the time. Will agree wholeheartedly to sticking to our frames AND to the fact that it's Kareena's job to look good. However, I don't think all of us change our looks or want to look better only when we are paid for it! But guess we all agree that as long as we dont get maniacal about looking good, tis all cool.
And, welcome to Eve*!

Anonymous said...

Hi Shruti!
Baap re, is what comes to mind after reading that female icon bit. While its a "thankyou" for all the kind words, go easy...some of us can be quite insufferable with bloated egos (and already have a huge ego!)
As for putting on weight... i can safely say the camera adds 5 kgs. :D I weight a 44kgs and am quite happy having put on some kilos. Just that now i have to keep it at that! Problem being that the happier I get the "fattier" I get too! And welcome to Eve*

Jab I Write.... said...

thanks jhoomur :) infact i think ure blog is delightful! its very U and i feel i talk to u everyday wen d fact is we havent met in ages!

Anonymous said...

Aiiii.... Ria maane former Genesis Ria? :)

Never Mind!! said...

About the show: I exactly agree with your point about having money and success and wanting to flaunt it. I remember Dr. Mallya said the exact same thing when he was being interviewed by Mr. Thapar on Devil's advocate and was asked if he should tone down his flashy lifestyle fater being an MP to not insult the many hungry and homeless. Apart from that, not many conclusions from the debate on the show.

I am one of the many women that obsess over our weight. The problem I had with Kareena's body is two fold. I read the story on ibn first and I wondered why it had to be on the must-read list on a national news website? This I ask especially after reading Hindol Sengupta at IBN write how the "cheap" news channels increased their TRPs by showing the LFW malfunction. I am sorry I know I should not lash out at you for what IBN choses to be its must-read. It again goes back to the Page3 debate. But then I dont mind reading such news on say BUzz18 or your blog or something. Heck, I actually visit fashion blogs to read all the gossip. I feel cheated when I visit IBN and am told that the most important news item of the day was Kareena's body!!

On the second count, although I agree its her body and she has every right to do whatever she pleases to do with it, I hate the fact that the movie's promos were entirely based on the Kareena's new sexy look! Like you already mentioned, it sends a totally wrong message to all the young girls who idolize Kareena. Given my weight obsession, I know how long it took for me to respect my body and like it the way it is. These kind of conflicting messages do nothing for people like me. I will stop now and will let you do the writing here :)

Samster said...

Okay, so i landed up here cuz of a link a friends posted and am really glad i did. What your saying really does make sense, yes Kareena has lost a hellova lotta charm that used to be pretty obvious...(even to the people who didnt really like her...like me)..But then i think we're in a minority here cuz' ive heard about a million(okay exaggeration) people call it 'hot'...in fact, think about it...if someone says "oh, you've lost weight"..we immediately take it as a compliment...somewhere, not too deep in our psyche..we've conditioned ourselves into believing thin is most definitely 'in' and something to aspire towards...do people even realize fat/heavy/non-thin people can look beautiful?...yes, if your lucky..then you still look good INSPITE of your weight..cuz weight is the enemy..*sigh*..

JIST: Its all about demand...society demands waif like figures..Film stars provide them..and give us something to (sadly) aspire to...

Btw...your blog...fantastic stuff!...consider it inspirational.
:)

Jab I Write.... said...

yup former genesis ria :)