Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan has traced a long journey from trying hard to fit into the elusive idea of a ‘perfect’ Bollywood heroine to owning everything that made her different and thriving like a star.

Over the years, she has become a proponent of self-love and acceptance, using her platform to show that you don’t need to change yourself to fit any ideal for you to live your best life.

But, according to a now-viral Instagram post by the actress, a recent fan encounter left her thinking about the insecurities she had when she had just started out in her career.

“A few days ago, at an event this pretty girl comes up to me for a pic. There was a crowd and I was trying to do as many pics as possible. People were jostling and in the middle of this chaos, the girl was back for another pic. My manager (who is very sharp) promptly told her, ‘Aapne toh le liya…plz aur nahi‘. (You’ve already taken a photo. Please no more). To which she said, ‘Galat side se liya,main achchi nahi lag rahi ,yeh post nahi kar paungi’ (I’ve taken the photo from the wrong side, I wasn’t looking good, I won’t be able to post it),” wrote the actress in the post caption.

The Kahaani actress revealed that she finally gave in to the fan’s request and took another picture with her but the encounter left her thinking about her own insecurities with her ‘right’ angles.

“You know ive always preferred my left profile over my right…but overtime as i started on this journey of trying to love & accept myself a little more each day,i realised that liking one profile meant liking one part of me to the exclusion of the other…because the truth is that i not only liked my left but also disliked my right profile.I would tell photographers & cinematographers to avoid shooting me from the right…I would be scared if someone shot me from the right cuz i thought it was my ugly side.It was almost like the fear of being found out (sic).”

She went on to write that she has grown to love and accept her body the way it is over the years and now she, not only likes but, loves all her angles. According to her, nothing about her body has changed, the only thing that has changed is the way she looks at it.

Her long and thought-provoking note was accompanied by two mirror selfies of the actress, showing off both her profiles.

“Hence i returned to the room and took this selfie at the end of a long day sans make up …because i LIKE me just the way i am (sic).”

The actress concluded her post by urging her followers to embrace their supposed flaws and own them, just like her.

More power to her!