Shalini Passi, who won hearts with her Netflix debut in Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, has become one of the most admired personalities. She is know for her grace, authenticity, and effortless style. While the show was full of glitz and drama, it was Shalini’s confidence that made her stand out from other Bollywood wives. But there was a time when she couldn’t accept the way she was.
In a candid conversation with Humans of Bombay, Shalini opened up about her struggles with self-doubt and how she once considered plastic surgery because she didn’t feel ‘cool enough.’
‘I wanted to be cool’
“Before signing the series and starting the shoot, I went through a phase where I wanted to be ‘cool’,” she said. “I was very conscious and told myself, ‘Now that I’m going to face the camera, I can’t look like I’m from the Victorian era.’ I even tried learning slang and speaking like everyone else,” she further revealed.
Shalini also opened up about how she has been taking English lessons for several years to improve her speech. “I have been learning English for eight years because I used to stammer and had trouble pronouncing tough words. So I thought it was high time I became ‘cool’, but I just couldn’t,” she said.
When friends told Shalini Passi not to join the show
When she signed up for the Netflix reality show, not everyone supported her decision. “Many of my friends told me not to do it. They said, ‘You’re too simple, you won’t fit in.’ But now, those same people have changed their minds,” she said in the interaction.
Despite her poised and elegant image, Shalini shared that she battled insecurities about her appearance for years. “I don’t smile too much because I feel my nose is too big,” she revealed. “Now, of course, I contour it. But earlier, I used to avoid smiling because I thought it made my nose look bigger. I also believed my teeth looked too yellow because of my fair complexion. But now I’ve realised, it actually looks fine on camera.”
‘Your nose defines your character’
One of the most touching moments in her story came when she revealed how close she came to undergoing plastic surgery and what stopped her. “About 20 years ago, I went to a plastic surgeon in New York,” she said. “He looked at me and said, ‘I know why you’re here.’ When I asked how, he replied, ‘Because of your nose.’ He then told me, ‘Your nose defines your character. I can fix it, but then it won’t be your face.’”
Those words changed her forever. “That conversation made me walk out of the clinic,” Shalini shared. “Ever since that day, I dropped the idea. Now, I proudly carry everything I’ve inherited from my family.”