For decades, South Asian films and television have painted beauty in the narrowest strokes: slim, fair, flawless, and silent. This image is not just stale—it’s dangerous. In Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, Jaya Bachchan plays Rocky’s Dadi—a matriarch whose rigid grip on tradition extends to how women should speak, dress, and behave. Her character becomes a chilling reminder of how generational power often enforces patriarchal beauty ideals under the guise of “culture” or “respect.” Women in her household are expected to shrink—not just physically, but emotionally and intellectually. In Shandaar, the “fat cousin” is turned into a caricature, her weight used as a punchline rather than explored with empathy.…