Rupali Ganguly felt too ‘plump’ for Anupamaa, producer told her ‘mothers don’t have a flat stomach, time to hit the gym’

Rupali Ganguly, who plays the lead role of a Gujarati homemaker on television show Anupamaa, has said she was apprehensive about taking up the role.

On the show, the actor is seen as a devoted mother and daughter-in-law who is often looked down upon for not completing her education. Rupali has said that she didn’t feel very confident about returning to the screen after a gap of seven years. She also felt she was overweight for the role.

Rupali has been earning a lot of praise for her performance on the show which has been declared a success for its high TRPs. Rupali however, wasn’t sure of playing Anupamaa as she felt that she may not look good on screen.

She told ETimes in an interview, “When I joined Anupamaa, I was a little plump and I told our producer Rajan Shahi that you want a heroine and at this age, let me lose some weight. But the producer told me that he didn’t want a heroine but a mother instead. ‘I want a mother and you are perfect for the role because mothers are like this.

Mother’s don’t get time to hit the gym and have a perfect figure and have a flat stomach. Maa maa hoti hai, she will first think about her kids, family, house and later maybe she will think about herself if she gets time’.”

She said, “I was a housewife for seven years and was at home. So there was a self doubt when I joined the show. Will I look good on-screen, will I look fat? Especially when you were once known for having a good figure.

So to accept yourself onscreen and what people will think of me like why has she put on so much weight, how will look, will my show be accepted because maybe I will be so bad, will I be able to act well after seven years gap, there were so many self doubts.”

Rupali shot to fame as Monisha Sarabhai in the cult sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. She has also appeared in Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Parvarrish – Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi.