Amitabh Bachchan has a long legacy in the Bollywood film industry, but like every other struggling artist, the superstar too had a rocky start. Looking back on his early years, the Piku actor recalled being criticised for being too tall and even being asked to leave a film set after arriving late.

During a special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 18, Bachchan candidly chatted with Commonwealth Games 2026 gold medallists Lovlina Borgohain, Jhandu Kumar, Sharmila Dhankar and Asmita Dey when Asmita asked if he was ever scolded on set, similar to how athletes are reprimanded when they make mistakes during training. The superstar replied that he faced his fair share of criticism back in the day.

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“Humko badi daant padti hain, shuru-shuru mein toh bahut padi thi. ‘Tumko kuch aata nahi hai, acting-wacting, tum bahut lambe ho, jaake ghar jaao.’(I used to get scolded a lot. In the beginning, I was scolded immensely. They would tell me, ‘You don’t know anything about acting, you are too tall, go back home)’,” he shared.

Amitabh Bachchan recalls dealing with body image issues. (Source: Express photo by Prashant Nadkar)

Dealing with body image issues and its impact on mental health

Kruti Shah, psychologist at Mpower Helpline, Aditya Birla Trust, says that she often sees that body image concerns are rarely only about appearance.

“A client may come into therapy saying, “I don’t like my body,” but when we explore it further, there is often a much deeper belief underneath it ‘People won’t accept me, I won’t be attractive, nobody will choose me, or I will feel confident only after I look a certain way.”

In therapy, Shah says that a lot of the work around body image is actually about identifying the story a person has created around their body. But we need to question ourselves where did we learn that?

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“Often, these aren’t beliefs we consciously chose. They come from childhood comments, family conversations, teasing at school, social media, relationships and the constant messaging around what an ‘ideal’ body is supposed to look like. After hearing these messages repeatedly, they can become our own internal voice,” she explains, adding that this internal voice can be extremely harsh.

“They may constantly check their appearance, compare themselves with others or feel guilty for standing out. In such situations, the issue is no longer simply the height. It is the relationship the person has developed with their body,” she further adds.

For someone who has spent years criticising themselves, Shah suggests starting somewhere more realistic with acceptance and neutrality. “This is my body. I don’t have to love every part of it, but I don’t have to hate it either,” she says. That shift may sound small, but it changes the conversation a person is having with themselves.