The year was 2007 when I first saw actor Maanvi Gagroo in ‘Dhoom Machaao Dhoom’, a teenage drama on Disney Channel in India. As a teenager, it was her character that I could relate so much with. She played an unconventional character than what we were used to seeing on television. She was imperfectly perfect, and cut to 2023, I saw Gagroo playing a modern woman in ‘Half Love Half Arranged’, a Dice Media series available on Amazon’s miniTV.
In these 15 years, Gagroo has given us relatable characters. Whether an actor is a lead on television or film, she has a petite figure, she looks a certain way, always adhering to societal standards of beauty. But Gagroo’s character is a woman that most of us can see ourselves in.
Dr Riya is independent, forthright, and unapologetic about her choices, most of them. She isn’t running to gyms to become conventionally beautiful, which is a common plotline for many Hollywood and Bollywood films when they cast a not-so-conventional lead. She is comfortable in her skin, confident about what she wants, and knows her worth.
In a candid chat with HerZindagi, Gagroo opened up about her recent projects, being typecasted by many directors, working with Karan Wahi, and a lot more.
In An Arranged Marriage Set Up, People Judge A Woman’s Appearance
A scene that has gone viral from ‘Half Love Half Arranged’ shows a family visiting Riya’s house. The guy’s mother asks her to stand, lift a cup of tea, and circle. She says, “Wow! So beautiful.” Riya’s family took offence to their behaviour and asked them politely to stand up and get lost.
Speaking about the scene, Gagroo said it is like your childhood when your parents or guardians ask you to sing, recite a poem, or dance. However, in an arranged marriage, you are not a kid, you are an adult whom the other party is judging. She added, “Someone who's come to you and decide whether you're good enough for their child or not.”
She said that it stands true for both men and women, however, it is much worse for women. “For women, they only see physicality. This is frustrating.” She added that the best aspect of this scene is Riya’s family stood by her side.
“Not Skinny Enough For A Lead And Not Fat Enough To Play Her BFF”
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In ‘Four More Shots Please!’, Gagroo played Siddhi Patel, a woman who initially struggled with body image issues but gradually accepted herself and became more confident than ever. The actor said that, unlike her character in Amazon Prime’s series, she was never a child who was conscious about how she looked, but when she decided to be an actor, she came across a different reality.
She shared that casting directors told her, “You are not skinny enough to be a lead, and you are not fat enough to be the lead’s best friend. We don’t know in which category to put you.”
“I think these were the two categories they had for women,” the actor added. Gagroo said that there are days when a person feels confident and pretty, and there are bad days when they are questioning everything or feeling bloated. “This is how it is, and it is normal,” she said, adding that social media has been helpful. It is making our society more inclusive and acceptable because netizens often speak against trolls body-shaming or making others conscious of how they look, talk, and dress.
Gagroo’s mantra is to stay fit rather than be skinny. “I want to be the best version of me,” she added. She prefers three days of cardio, and three days of strength training in a week to keep her body in the prime of health. There are days and weeks when she cannot make it to the gym, and “I do not beat myself for it,” the actor added.
The actor believes that as we grow up, we learn to shut out the voice. She added that she only focuses on the positive comments on the internet. “There will be 1-2 people who will say something nasty for no reason, but it only shows who they are,” Gagroo said.
‘It’s A Social Thing To Notice Someone’s Weight When We Meet Them’
In our society, we have often seen people commenting on weight or body-shaming others. It would be the first thing they would notice in a person. Speaking on the same subject, Gagroo said that she used to do the same because it is something that we have ingrained by seeing people around us.
She added that she has been making conscious efforts to change it. The actor said, “Like if I would meet a person, I would say, ‘You are glowing’, or ask, ‘Are you alright?’” Joking about how Dr Riya would reply to a person who would meet her and instantly comment on her weight, the actor said, “I have an excuse that I was studying and didn’t have time to work out, but what is your excuse to be such a horrible person.”
‘A Modern Woman Is Someone Is Someone With A Luxury Of Choice’
Gagroo has always played characters of an independent woman, be it ‘Half Love Half Arranged’, ‘Four More Shots Please!’, and ‘Tripling’. Her definition of a modern woman is someone with a luxury of choice. “She is someone who chooses what happens in her life. Even if her choices are wrong, she owns them.”
She said that for a woman to be making decisions about her life, she has to be financially independent (Why Women Should Be Financially Independent?), or else she will always rely on her family and partner to make those choices for her. “Someone who lives life as wholesome is a modern woman for me,” said the actor.
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From A Prank To Starring Together In 'Half Love Half Arranged': How Maanvi Gagroo And Karan Wahi Met
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The lead cast of ‘Half Love Half Arranged’, Maanvi Gagroo and Karan Wahi met on an ice breaker. It was a red-carpet event that Wahi was hosting with actor and singer Anusha Dandekar. Dandekar and Gagroo decided to prank Wahi, and amidst this, he announced that he would be working with Gagroo, leaving her shocked.
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Gagroo and Wahi bonded over common interests they shared. The actor shared that she would like to work with Vishal Bhardwaj, Konkana Sen Sharma, and many more. While her series ‘Half Love Half Arranged’ has been garnering positive reviews, we hope to see its second season because the first one ended on a cliffhanger.
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