Highlights:
- Mrunal Thakur admits she struggled with self-confidence until 2025
- Says rigid beauty standards made her feel like a 'misfit'
- Connected deeply with her role in Do Deewane Seher Mein
- Believes authenticity defines beauty today
- Feels younger generations are giving up too quickly on love
For years, Indian cinema promoted a narrow and often unrealistic standard of beauty for its leading women. While the industry has evolved, many actors from the current generation say they have personally experienced that sense of exclusion. Mrunal Thakur is one of them.
In an exclusive conversation, the actor opened up about battling self-image issues for much of her career and how it took her years to feel comfortable in her own skin.
“Up until 2025, I was not confident about how I looked,” Mrunal admitted. “I felt like maybe I’m a misfit. I felt maybe I’m not good enough because the beauty standards set were completely different.”
The actor is currently awaiting the release of her upcoming romantic drama, Do Deewane Seher Mein, where she plays Roshni, a young woman struggling with self-worth while constantly being compared to her sister, played by Sandeepa Dhar.
Mrunal says the script resonated with her instantly. “That’s probably the only reason I am a part of this film. There are a lot of people out there, not just girls, but also boys, who have been in that shell. They are so underconfident because someone in the past told them, ‘You’re not good enough!’ There would always be a comparison with their siblings. That resonated the most with me. It took me 30 seconds to hop on.”
Ironically, the film’s trailer features her character saying she doesn’t consider herself beautiful, a line that surprised many fans who see Mrunal as conventionally attractive. She laughs at the reaction. “When people say it’s a joke, thank God. But what they see is not what I see.”
Over time, she says, she has been able to shed much of that emotional baggage. “Right now, beauty lies in being authentic and being comfortable in your own skin. And now here I am after that long journey, somehow finding that space where I am comfortable with the way I am.”
Beyond self-image, the film also explores modern relationships and shifting attitudes toward love. Mrunal believes younger generations aren’t necessarily opposed to commitment, but they struggle with consistency.
“It’s not like they don’t want to. But the times have changed. It’s a world of 24-hour stories. Even on social media, you have stories that disappear in 24 hours. The only things missing are consistency and efforts,” she says. “Today’s generation is giving up not just on love, but on many other things. My only wish is that they don’t, that they have patience.”
Directed by Ravi Udyawar and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film also stars Siddhant Chaturvedi and is set to release in theaters on February 20.
