Rupali Ganguly shared this image. (courtesy: rupaliganguly)
Rupali Ganguly is no stranger to Indian television viewers. The actress became a household name with iconic shows such as Sanjivani and Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai. More recently, she grabbed the nation's attention once again with her lead role in the daily show Anupamaa. While her titular role has made her the darling of the masses, she was also faced with a fair share of age shaming and body shaming. In an interaction with ETimes, Rupali Ganguly opened up about being a victim of bullying. In addition to referring to her as a “fat lady”, judgements were also passed for her being older than her co-star Gaurav Khanna.
About being bullied, Rupali Ganguly was quoted as saying, “It's not like I became strong because of that phase. I have gone through body shaming, age shaming even after Anupamaa. Arre your wrinkles are visible, arre that fat lady, yes I have wrinkles and I am proud of them. I've earned every wrinkle of mine. I am proud of what I am today. After three years of Anupamaa, I can say I accept the way I am. Any woman who is going through this, would say just shame your haters back. Don't let anyone affect you because you are your best judge."
Speaking about being older than her co-star Gaurav Khanna, who plays her husband Anuj, she said: "I even got comments on social media, ‘Oh she is fat, she is looking older than Anuj (Gaurav Khanna).' Yes, I am older than him in real life. I think he's going to be 41 and I am going to be 45. I am proud of it. We play Anuj and Anupamaa on the show and are shown at the same age. Am I not doing 100 percent justice to my role? Let's talk about my work. If you think I am not up to the mark, point that out, I'll work on them."
A few days ago, on winning an award for Anupamaa, Rupali Ganguly spoke about the experience of working on the project and her journey as an actor, so far. Sharing a gratitude note thanking producer Rajan Shahi, she said: “I wanted to be an actor, become famous because I dreamt of a platform to speak for the voiceless innocent souls...raise a voice against animal cruelty… have the means to help my fellow animal lovers. Not only has Anupamaa given me this standing but thanks to Rajanji ( no producer till date I have seen has cared about his unit or the stray fur babies as much ) we have 15 doggie bachchas whose home is our sets, where they live comfortably and all their necessities are taken care of with so much love. An entire unit of more than 100 people love them. Thanks to Anupamaa today I have a strong digital family too who support this cause that I so believe in.”
She further added, “And then of course I'd like to thank my husband, who's kindness wins my heart every day. My son, my Rudransh who takes after his mommy in serving the voiceless. This achievement wouldn't have been possible without my boys. This trophy shall glitter the most because the love comes from our hearts to help. Thank you, I bow down in gratitude.”
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Rupali Ganguly is the daughter of film director Anil Ganguly. Her brother Vijay Ganguly is a choreographer in the Hindi film industry.