Shehnaaz Gill on Why Her Body and Punjabi Accent Were Treated as Problems

Shehnaaz Gill’s recent comments bring together two kinds of scrutiny often discussed separately: pressure around her body and mockery of the Punjabi accent in her Hindi speech. In an interview reported on September 11, Gill recalled criticism she faced during Bigg Boss 13. She was looking back at an earlier experience, not reporting a new wave of trolling.

Her account shows how unstable those demands can be. A woman on screen can be told to become slimmer, to fit a particular silhouette, or to smooth away a regional voice for a wider audience—only to find that the criticism continues when she changes.

When an accent becomes a target

Gill said people mocked her Hindi because she spoke with a Punjabi accent and called her “anpadh, gawaar”. The criticism focused on casual speech during Bigg Boss 13, where her language became part of the public’s reading of her personality.

An accent is not a measure of intelligence or worth. It carries regional history and identity. Treating Gill’s Punjabi inflection as a defect suggests that a performer becomes more acceptable only when traces of home are softened for a national audience. Her recollection is a useful reminder that speech can become another site of appearance-policing.

The body standard kept moving

Gill also questioned why everyone should be expected to have an hourglass figure. She said she can feel comfortable after gaining four or five kilograms, and pointed out the contradiction in the commentary she receives: lose weight and people object; gain weight and people object again.

Her point is not a health prescription. It is about the public expectation that a performer’s appearance should always remain open for correction. Beauty ideals are often presented as fixed, but Gill’s account describes them as trend-driven and changeable.

Styling for a role is different

The most specific example came from her recollection of filming Ishqnama. Gill said the director asked her makeup artist not to contour her face because it looked too thin for the character. When she later watched the film, she said she liked seeing herself with a fuller face.

That is a meaningful distinction. Makeup and styling can serve a particular character; they do not have to enforce one universal idea of attractiveness. A creative choice for a role has a story-specific purpose. A broader demand that every actor fit one body type does not.

The comments arrive during the release period for Singh vs Kaur 2, which features Gill in its cast. That context returns the discussion to her screen work rather than a before-and-after narrative. Gill’s account offers a simpler standard: an actor’s regional voice and body should not be treated as problems to solve before she is allowed to belong on screen.

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