Women slam trolls body-shaming Katrina Kaif with 'before and after' pics post Ambani bash: 'When will this change?'

Trolled after her Antilia appearance, Katrina Kaif finds support as women and fellow moms slam double standards with clear message: 'She owes you nothing'.

When actors Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal posed for paparazzi outside Antilia for the Ambani family’s annual Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations on September 14, the moment was meant to be festive. Katrina, attending her first major public event in months, wore an elegant traditional ensemble alongside her husband.

Instead, the internet was cruel. Within hours, 'then and now' and ‘before and after’ collages flooded Instagram. One side showed Katrina Kaif from before her pregnancy, the other was a cropped photo from the Ambani bash, highlighting her current figure. The digital commentary was relentless, but it sparked a fierce counter-movement from women calling out the unfair standards for female celebrities.

A fellow mother slams the double standard

In an Instagram video shared on September 16, content creator Tarini Peshawaria — a self-described 'mom who enjoys storytelling and likes to share her two cents on beauty and wellness' — schooled trolls for dissecting Katrina’s appearance.

Showing a side-by-side comparison image on screen, Tarini voiced her frustration: “Today I saw a post where Katrina Kaif's 'before' and 'after' pictures were being compared — before having a baby and after having a baby. First of all, I won't even get into the fact that people don't seem to know that a woman's body changes after having a child. I mean, I think this is basic.”

‘Can’t believe she is being trolled’

Tarini shared that Katrina’s decision to step out without attempting to hide or rapidly alter her physique carries immense weight for everyday women. "Looking at Katrina, I can only tell you how many women she’s healing by just flaunting this amazing look of hers," Tarini said, adding, "Do you realise that whoever is trolling her — she has access to the best fitness coaches, the best nutritionists. She can lose weight like this if she wants to. But she’s choosing to accept this body, enjoy this phase in her life, and just focus on motherhood."

Someone commented on her post, "I can’t believe she is being trolled and how it’s always about looks when it comes to us women; like our achievements don’t matter at all." Another said, "I can totally feel what you are saying. I have been through the same phase." A comment also read: “She was beautiful then. She is beautiful now. And this is for every woman who has given birth, for every woman whose body has changed, whose strength has grown, and whose beauty has only deepened with time. Motherhood doesn’t take away a woman’s beauty. It adds a whole new meaning to it.”

Academic slams trolls body-shaming Katrina Kaif

Joining the online defense on the same day was Falguni Vasavada, a professor of marketing and advertising at MICA and a content creator. Posting a video response targeting a content creator who had questioned Katrina's appearance at Antilia, Falguni called out the hypocrisy of online commentary.

"Beta (son), tell me, how many zeros are in ₹350 crores?" Falguni asked, citing the scale of Katrina's beauty empire. "That was the net gross sales annual revenue of Kay Beauty, co-founded by Katrina Kaif last year. Still, we are causing a stir over her looks. A woman, just because she belongs to the film industry, is body-shamed because she became a mother and her body has gone through changes," she added.

Falguni dismantled the unrealistic expectations forced upon women at every stage of life: “Be a mother, but don't look like a mother. Become 40-years-old, but you must look 20. Your skin should be tight, your tummy flat... shaming women for ageing and shaming women post-motherhood for bodily changes is so not in fashion. We are in 2026. Use AI, use Claude, do math on the internet... focus a little on your own life so you can move forward. She (Katrina Kaif) doesn't owe you anything. Ensure you stop body-shaming women, especially as women grow. Let them age. Men are allowed to age; women are not allowed to age.”

Understanding the postpartum reality

The backdrop to the online discourse is Katrina’s transition into motherhood. Katrina, who turned 42 in July 2025, welcomed her first child — a baby boy — with husband Vicky Kaushal on November 7, 2025. Months after childbirth, Katrina's natural postpartum physical changes are an entirely expected medical reality.

According to Dr Priya Singh, a women's health physiotherapist and lactation consultant at Cloudnine Group of Hospitals in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, physical changes post-childbirth are a completely natural biological process. Every woman experiences changes in body weight, skin texture, muscle tone, and abdominal contour following pregnancy.

She explained in a 2022 interview with HT Lifestyle: "The uterus is made up of smooth muscles, and it grows in size with progressing weeks of pregnancy. After the baby is born, the uterus is still large. That is the reason, even after childbirth, the belly feels the same. The size of the uterus naturally shrinks over time. This process is referred to as involution."

Dr Singh noted that while the body heals naturally, specific practices, such as breastfeeding, can support the process: nursing helps the uterus shrink faster by stimulating the release of oxytocin, a hormone that triggers uterine muscle contractions. She added that for women experiencing diastasis recti — ‘a separation of the rectus abdominal muscles exceeding 2 cm’ — a physiotherapist may evaluate the condition and recommend an abdominal belt to support lax muscles during daily routines.

Rebuilding core strength requires patience and consistency, she highlighted, adding that long-term, targeted exercises designed by physical therapy professionals restore muscle function far more safely than quick-fix weight loss routines.

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.

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