It seems that the whole world has an opinion on this The body of Kumail Nanjiani. Since he posted two shirtless photos of himself to networks in 2019, the Marvel actor’s physique has been the subject of discussion on the internet. He’s what it takes to be an MCU superhero. How did he get so muscular? Was I contributing to an unrealistic body standard? Will he be able to maintain such a physique? Was he too big?
Now, in an interview with NPR, Nanjiani has opened up about what happened to her after she posted those images, explaining how getting back into the shape of her life wasn’t the entirely positive experience one might expect.
“I felt, for a brief moment, powerful. And after that, it was just generally negative.”said Nanjiani. “At first, getting that reaction from people — I’ve never had it before and I think part of me has always wanted it — felt powerful. It was very exciting. But very soon I felt reduced, naked and vulnerable.
“It made me go down the street and ask someone to come up to me and tell me something about my body. It keeps happening all the time. … I have a complicated relationship with it. I don’t regret posting those photos because they changed my life. However, I wish they didn’t take up as much space in my head as they do.”
In the interview, Nanjiani went on to explain how getting in shape for her MCU appearance also sparked some uncomfortable emotions around food, which she got to explore further during her latest project, Welcome to Chippendales. Nanjiani plays Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the founder of the Chippendales. A role for which his only physical preparation was to eat as much and as often as he wanted.
“I have always used food as a punishment or as a reward”says Nanjiani. “I didn’t really start thinking about it or accepting it until I finished Eternals, because making Eternals brought up a lot of these issues. Then I realized I was thinking about food in a specific way that I needed to explore and revise.”
“I realized that I was so strict with food and used it in so many unhealthy ways that forcing myself to eat unhealthy amounts of unhealthy food got me out of that trap. I still have work to do, but for months it was liberating to eat whatever I wanted, eat whatever I wanted. It kind of freed me from some of the ways I had been thinking about food.”
