Actress Bipasha Basu has shared a workout video with her daughter Devi on Instagram, reflecting on her post-pregnancy fitness journey and struggles to live up to the body image standard set by society.
“My body has changed since having my baby, but am I still beautiful? Do I need validation from the world about me more so because I am an actor? Maybe sometimes, in my most vulnerable moments,” wrote Bipasha alongside the video on Sunday.
The video shows Bipasha working out on a yoga mat in an all-black athleisure suit with her one-year-old daughter, Devi, who was imitating her mum’s moves.
Bipasha, who gave birth to Devi in November 2022, stressed the uniqueness of “every woman, every body type, every pregnancy, every journey” in her post, underlining how self-love encompasses more than just one’s physical appearance.
The actress went on to advocate the need for a more inclusive and body-positive world, questioning why new mothers are often limited to endorsing only baby products and not seen as inspirational figures for other brands. “Time has made me wonder… why was I only considered by brands for endorsements when I was super lean and spending hours in the gym? Why can’t a new mom be inspirational for the same brands? Isn’t that more relatable,” she wrote.
Bipasha went on to describe the struggles she had to undergo in “bouncing back to her pre-baby appearance”. “I do want to bounce back, however tough this interim period of struggle may be, as I want to return to my first love… acting,” reads her post.
Trashing the body image standard set by others and social perception of beauty, Bipasha championed the connection between happiness, self-belief and staying beautiful. “Do I feel beautiful? Hell yeah. My husband looks at me every day and makes me feel like the most gorgeous woman in the world. My little daughter’s ‘Wow, Mamma; when she sees me, and when asked who is ‘shundori’, she screams ‘Mamma’ loudly,” wrote the actress.
“I am here, choosing happiness every second of my life...The bottom line is, I am beautiful,” she signs off emphatically.
Bipasha was last seen in MX Player's crime thriller series Dangerous (2020), opposite her husband Karan Singh Grover with whom she tied the knot in April 2016.
