Kajol says it took ‘many years’ to consider herself beautiful because of 'what everybody was spouting at that time’

Kajol revealed why she found herself 'attractive' and even 'sexy', but never 'beautiful'. It took her many years to associate that adjective with herself.

With her dusky skin and unibrow, Kajol did not conform to Bollywood’s narrow beauty ideals of the early 90s, when she made her debut. In a new chat, she has talked about how it took her many years to see herself as ‘beautiful’, despite being very confident about herself. She said that though she considered herself smart and attractive, ‘beautiful’ was an adjective she could not associate with herself.

Kajol said that it took a long time for her to consider herself 'beautiful'.

Talking to Netflix, Kajol reminisced about what her grandmother, Shobhna Samarth, told her. “The idea of seeing the beauty in imperfection is something my grandmother tried to instil in me at a very young age. She was considered one of the great beauties of her time, but she always told me, ‘It’s my slight cockeye that makes me beautiful!’ Yet, it was many years before I could look at myself in the mirror and go, ‘You are beautiful!’,” she said.

“Don’t get me wrong - I was very confident in my skin growing up. There were many adjectives I applied to myself: attractive, smart, cool, sexy even. But I didn’t consider myself beautiful. A lot of it had to do with what everybody was spouting at that time. It took me a long time to arrive at ‘beautiful’,” she added.

Over the years, Kajol has learnt to find beauty in her appearance. Now, when she looks in the mirror or poses for a selfie, she finds herself stunning. She hoped that other women practised self-love as well.

Kajol made her debut in 1992 with Bekhudi. She has starred in a number of hits, including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Gupt: The Hidden Truth, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. She made her digital debut earlier this year with the Netflix film Tribhanga, which revolves around the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. Written and directed by Renuka Shahane, the film also starred Tanvi Azmi, Mithila Palkar and Kunal Roy Kapur.