By Anil Merani: It is very tough to be a celebrity; you always have to look good, which is a challenge. Take Poor Sumbul Touqeer , who has recently been body-shamed for putting on a few kilos due to a health issue she’s been battling.
Some social media haters went to the extent of comparing her with an oversized Victoria’s Secret model. Not one to shy from a fight, Sumbul ( Imlie, Bigg Boss 16, and Kavya) fired back.
These hurtful trolls fail to recognize that celebrities like us are human and experience ups and downs. Sumbul, in particular, has been unwell, and her medication side effects (neurological and physiatric) have led to a temporary change in her body.
It would be much better if trolls had the human decency to understand what and why before typing nonsense.
Words hurt a lot; public adulation is critical for a celeb, and such a hurtful comment makes a profound impact.
Here, I would bat for Sumbul that, unlike many other TV starlets, Sumbul does not dress in a bikini to get eyeball. She prefers to let her work speak for itself.
She had always dressed elegant and decent, giving positive vibes to gen-next
I request these trollers to take a breath and think, would they call their sisters and bhabhi moti?
Comparison to lingerie model is a below-the-belt slur and must have outraged Sumbul and her family
We should all support Sumbul in her moment of trouble and get healthy, but can we expect a shred of decency from the nameless online worthies?
Having said all that, I am also a pragmatist who understands that getting body shaming comes with the territory; You can’t please all.
Those who put you on a pedestal can bring you down in a
Here, we also have a more hidden PR game engineer by rivals to hit a person when he is down.
One way celebs, not just Sumbul but much bigger once there to beat the evil day (most fail to do) is to consult fashionista to craft a design which hides your unflattering part. A good PR team with a fashion sense is very important. They must vet which pictures should go out or not and manage the narrative to protect the celebrity’s public image: one faux pas and your history.
Most Indian celebs still understand the importance of social media management. Just posting pix is not good enough; you need a dedicated team to control the narrative and stump out any negative trend before it becomes a wildfire. They need to copy a leaf from Hollywood.
Yes, the cost is prohibitive, but then we Indians are known for jugaad, so why not here? Everything is fair in media management.
Sumbul should not have clapped back here (agreed it was in terrible taste), for they took it as a victory and managed to get her under her skin. However, she also directed a lot of media limelight on her weight gain and medical condition, which could potentially harm her work chances and the projects she’s been working on.
Her folks and her team should have counselled her against her lashing out.
Celeb needs to develop a thick skin to take a lot of rubbish in their stride.