‘I Am A Heavy, Luxury Car’

‘There
are
very
few
chances
that
I
can
give
good
mileage.’
‘A
smaller,
lighter
car
will
give
more
mileage
and
this
was
a
big
reason
to
be
nervous.’

From
the
chaos
of

Bigg
Boss
OTT
to
the
wild
landscapes
of

Reality
Ranis
Of
The
Jungle
on
the
Discovery
Channel,

Bebika
Dhruve
has
sparked
conversations.

As
she
prepares
to
take
on
her
next
adventure
in

Reality
Ranis
Of
The
Jungle,
she
shares
her
insights
on
the
relentless
pressure
of
beauty
standards
in
the
entertainment
industry,
the
importance
of
self-acceptance,
and
how
she’s
redefining
what
it
means
to
be
a
queen
in
today’s
world.

“Girls
at
my
school
and
college
felt
that
just
because
they
were
taller
than
me,
they
deserved
to
be
heroines,
not
me.
If
they
are
leaner,
they
are
prettier.
It’s
not
ideal
to
conform
to
the
beauty
standards
of
others
for
the
sake
of
it,”
she
tells



Rediff.com
Contributor

Mohnish
Singh.

Tell
us
about

Reality
Ranis
Of
The
Jungle.

It
is
an
extraordinary
and
never-seen-before
concept
on
Indian
television.

It
revolves
around
12
women
from
different
walks
of
life
—
actors,
artistes
and
even
military-trained
women
—
who
are
trying
to
take
on
physical
challenges
and
bringing
out
the
best
of
each
other.

What
are
you
most
excited
about
—
and
most
nervous
for
—
when
it
comes
to

Reality
Ranis
Of
The
Jungle?

I
am
most
excited
about
the
fact
that
I
am
doing
something
really
different
in
life
and
nervous
as
well
because
the
other
girls
have
a
lot
of
other
physical
advantages
as
compared
to
me.

They
would,
of
course,
do
very
well
because
they
were
taller
and
leaner
than
me.

I,
on
the
other
hand,
am
a
heavy,
luxury
car.
There
are
very
few
chances
that
I
can
give
good
mileage.
A
smaller,
lighter
car
will
give
more
mileage
and
this
was
a
big
reason
to
be
nervous.

How
has
your
life
changed
since
gaining
fame
from

Bigg
Boss
OTT?

Life
has
changed
majorly
and
for
the
better.

What
motivated
you
to
explore
a
career
in
the
entertainment
industry,
as
you
were
practicing
dentistry?

I
always
wanted
to
have
my
place
in
the
entertainment
industry.

In
my
friends
circle
and
family,
nobody
was
really
supportive.

Everybody
was
old
school
and
restrictive.
So
I
stopped
expressing
my
thoughts
to
them
after
a
point.

What
kind
of
resistance
did
you
face
from
family
or
friends
when
you
decided
to
pursue
a
career
in
entertainment?

They
just
thought
that
they
were
better
than
me.

For
example,
girls
at
my
school
and
college
felt
that
just
because
they
were
taller
than
me,
they
deserved
to
be
heroines,
not
me.

If
they
are
leaner,
they
are
prettier.

It’s
not
ideal
to
conform
to
the
beauty
standards
of
others
for
the
sake
of
it.
It’s
a
problem
with
the
mindset.

Can
you
tell
us
how
you
got
into
palmistry?

We,
as
a
family,
have
been
practicing
face
reading
and
palmistry
for
generations.

I
am
the
11th
generation
where
they
are
practicing
the
same.
It’s
a
lot
of
knowledge,
study
and
it’s
inherent.

In
the
entertainment
world,
have
you
ever
felt
that
someone
was
trying
to
take
advantage
of
you,
either
personally
or
professionally?

Yeah,
I
come
across
a
lot
of
people
in
the
industry
who
try
to
exploit
an
artist
financially.

But
I
trust
my
gut
instinct
and
that’s
why,
the
moment
I
have
a
feeling
that
I
am
on
the
verge
of
working
with
a
wrong
person,
I
back
off.

The
entertainment
industry
often
promotes
certain
beauty
standards.
How
have
you
dealt
with
the
pressure
to
conform?
Do
you
think
these
standards
are
changing?

I
believe
that
these
beauty
standards
are
the
most
obnoxious.

For
me,
doing
modifications
on
your
face
and
body
and
then
calling
yourself
beautiful
isn’t
really
beautiful.

If
you
are
trying
to
compete
with
younger
people
and
trying
to
get
things
done
on
yourself,
that
is
a
display
of
insecurity.

Embracing
your
real
self
and
bringing
the
best
out
of
yourself,
that’s
some
real
confidence.

I
don’t
follow
any
beauty
standards.
I
create
my
own
beauty
standards.

How
do
you
feel
about
the
impact
of
social
media
on
your
career?

My
social
media
has
certainly
boomed
after

Bigg
Boss.

I
went
inside
the
show
with
around
30,000
to
40,000
followers
and
came
out
of
the
show
with
500,000+
followers.

Also,
I
understood
the
business
of
social
media
nicely
after

Bigg
Boss
and
so
for
me,
it
was
a
blessing.

How
do
you
feel
about
the
portrayal
of
women
in
films
and
shows
today?
Do
you
think
they
empower
women
or
reinforce
stereotypes?

It’s
very
empowering.
There
are
movies
and
shows
which
are
women-centric,
but
they
are
also
reinforcing
stereotypes.

I
am
proud
to
see
Kareena
Kapoor
ma’am
do
the
kind
of
movies
that
she
is
doing.

She
is
just
being
herself.

She’s
a
natural
beauty
and
she’s
doing
characters
of
her
age.

If
you
could
design
your
own
reality
show,
what
would
the
theme
be,
and
why?

If
I
wanted
to
have
my
own
reality
show,
it
would
not
involve
demeaning
and
insulting
each
other.
That’s
not
necessary
for
entertainment.

I
love
this
show
called

Laughter
Chef;
I
love
the
concept.
If
I
had
my
own
reality
show,
it
would
be
something
of
this
sort.

It’s
filled
with
entertainment
and
years
and
years
of
friendship
between
the
contestants.
There’s
no
toxicity
and
they
are
like
a
family
together.

Photographs
curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff.com