Hareem Farooq reveals why she made a conscious choice not to go on a crash diet for her drama ‘Bismil’
Actress Hareem Farooq is shattering beauty standards, one myth at a time.
The actress gave an interview to BBC Urdu on her performance as Masooma in the ongoing drama ‘Bismil’ where she opened up the poignant reason why she had chosen not to go on a crash diet for her new role.
Farooq said she was prepared to go on a crash diet in order to get the perfect figure for the drama, but decided not to go along with it because of the mental health issues it was creating for her. She explained why she chose not to adhere to the regressive beauty standards, in hopes that other women out there might see her figure on screen and feel at ease about their own.
“Do we not see body types like mine out there in society?” Hareem questioned. “Why not celebrate them instead?”
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The ’22 Qadam’ actress said her decision was influenced after witnessing how much nitpicking women undergo from society regarding things like their career, their decision to get married or not, their bodies etc.
Hareem also revealed further on that during the shooting of the drama, she made an important decision to not hide the fact that began suffering from psoriasis. Originally feeling insecure about the skin condition, the actress said she chose to embrace it in order to help other Pakistani women realise that their bodies weren’t perfect all the time, and they can still go out there to achieve their dreams at the same time.
“I’ve still got the marks here on my arms and on my face,” confessed Farooq. “And I thought at first that I’m going to hide them, but then I realised I’m not the only one suffering from this. If 50 people out there will criticise me for the marks on my face, there are a 100 people who might feel a bit confident about their bodies after seeing me on screen.”
We’re so glad to see more Pakistani actresses like Hareem Farooq starring in successful dramas and proving that you don’t need to follow ridiculous beauty standards in order to be a “good” actress. Previously, it was the actress Hania Aamir who had received praises on social media on why she chose not to cover up her blemishes while shooting for ‘Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum’ in hopes that young women out there learn to embrace their flaws rather than hide them.
“I don’t want young girls to think that they must be ‘perfect looking’ in order to work as an actress,” explained Aamir in an interview to Faridoon Shahryar. “This is why in most of my videos you won’t see me wearing makeup. I do this so that everyone feels comfortable and knows that I’m an actress but I’m also human who can joke around, laugh at herself and also do serious work.”
