Kalki Koechlin: Bollywood actor tells Dear Daughter podcast she feels ugly sometimes

Bollywood actor Kalki Koechlin advises her five-year-old on how to navigate the pressure to appear beautiful.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersDear Daughter: I too feel ugly sometimes16 hours agoShareSaveHatty NashBBC World ServiceShareSaveGetty ImagesKalki Koechlin is a popular Bollywood actorKalki Koechlin has acted in blockbuster Bollywood films, modelled for international beauty brands and appeared on the cover of Vogue India. But in a world that puts such a premium on looking young, she says at times she feels "ugly".

"We live in a social [media] world that has distorted beauty," the actor, writer and producer tells the award-winning BBC World Service podcast Dear Daughter. "It has tricked us into thinking beauty is a certain size, a certain colour or a certain shape."

The half-hour programme features letters from parents to their children - in which they pass on the advice and life lessons which matter to them - and a conversation with the show's host Namulanta Kombo.

Kalki's letter is addressed to her five-year-old daughter. In it, she offers advice for navigating pressures around body image and describes the ways unrealistic beauty standards have affected her personally.

The actor, who lives in Goa in India with her husband Israeli musician Guy Hershberg and their daughter, says the inspiration for the letter came to her when, one day after school, the child came to her to say she didn't feel pretty.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx281dlxll2o

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