‘Nobody gets to have an opinion on your body or state of mind’, says Shruti Haasan

In a world where pictures don’t get uploaded without a chain of filters, actor Shruti Hassan chose Instagram to upload some pictures of herself that “didn’t make it to the final cut.” She uploaded pictures which were her “bad hair/with fever and sinus swollen day/period cramp day and the rest”. She captioned the pictures as: “hope you enjoy these, too #stayweird”. The post received many positive reactions and was a hit on the internet, but the social media platforms are crawling with trolls who responded to the pictures with criticism. Addressing such negative comments, she recently shared a note on how she will keep posting about “mental health, menstrual health and my swollen sinus face”, until she feels comfortable talking about them. “I will keep posting about mental health, menstrual health, and my swollen sinus face till I normalise talking about it. Nobody gets to have an opinion on your body or state of mind. Do what you want, how you want. It’s your life. That has to be the normal positive vibe. Not the magnified hate-spewing comment section that people accept as a normal part of society and life. No. Not here,” she wrote on Instagram Stories. Previously, she has spoken about her struggle with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, sharing that she has been “facing some of the worst hormonal issues.” “Workout with me. I’ve been facing some of the worst hormonal issues with my PCOS and endometriosis — women know it’s a tough fight with the imbalance and bloating and metabolic challenges. But instead of looking at it as a fight, I choose to accept it as a natural movement that my body goes through to do its best. I say Thank you by eating right, sleeping well, and enjoying my workout — my body isn’t perfect right now but my heart is. Keep fit, keep happy and let those happy hormones flow! I know I sound a tad preachy but it’s been such a journey to accept these challenges and not let them define me,” she captioned the Instagram post.