Rajinikanth’s daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, has spoken out against the body-shaming Katrina Kaif faced following her first public appearance after becoming a mother, calling the criticism “not fair” and “not kind”. The filmmaker and mother of two said women deserve greater understanding and respect for the physical changes they go through during pregnancy and after childbirth.
Katrina was subjected to a wave of online trolling in September when she stepped out to attend a Ganesh Chaturthi celebration. Pictures and videos from the event quickly made their way online, with some social media users commenting on her post-pregnancy appearance. The criticism drew support from several celebrities, who called out the unnecessary scrutiny of the actor’s body.
Now, Soundarya has also addressed the backlash. Speaking to Nayandeep Rakshit on his YouTube channel, she opened up about her own experiences with pregnancy and motherhood and explained why she felt particularly affected by the criticism directed at Katrina.
“I have two children and it is not easy. When you have to go through that process, your body changes and having a child post a particular age is even more difficult. I had my second child when I was past my 35. Not easy. You have to give that woman that respect. Because what a woman can do physically, you can’t blame men because they can’t. It is not biology,” Soundarya said.
She went on to stress that the physical demands of pregnancy and childbirth should be acknowledged rather than used as a reason to judge women.
“But you need to accept and acknowledge that a woman does. We are not asking the guy, ‘Why don’t you get pregnant?’ But when we do go through that, my heart went out when that whole thing happened. It was not fair. It was not kind. Women go through a lot but it is special to be a woman,” she added.
Soundarya’s comments come after several celebrities had publicly stood by Katrina amid the trolling. Salman Khan, Parineeti Chopra and Khushbu Sundar were among those who spoke against the criticism and defended the actor from comments about her appearance.
Katrina and Vicky Kaushal welcomed their first child, a baby boy, in November last year. The couple named their son Vihaan. Since becoming parents, both actors have largely kept their son away from the public eye while gradually returning to their professional commitments.
ALSO READ: Vicky Kaushal Says Katrina Kaif’s Happiness With Son Vihaan Makes Him Want To “Pause” Time
