Ayesha Takia’s aesthetic evolution stands out for her refusal to be bullied by the internet

“Did you notice how I just didn’t respond? Very mindful, very cutesy, very demure”.

This is what Ayesha Takia’s indirect response to her trolls was after the internet underwent a mini eruption following recent posts made by the former actor. Back in the early 2000s, Ayesha was well on her way to being the poster face for the demure — pun intended — girl-next-door. While she embraced the limelight when it was shining down harsh on her, Ayesha has entirely moved on. And it’s been a while, almost a decade-and-a-half to be exact. A part of the internet however, clearly hasn’t.

About a week ago, Ayesha shared a few videos of herself dressed to the nines in a gold and electric blue silk saree. She looked different. “Unrecognizable” as many of the comments under her posts and discussion forums elsewhere pointed out. However, what predictably ensued was downright bullying and shaming along with cries of deep disapproval of what she looks like now.

It is worth mentioning here that the last movie Ayesha starred in, was 2011 release Mod, roughly 2 years after the biggest film of her career, the Salman Khan-starrer Wanted.

Sans for hosting a season of a musical reality show the following year, for all practical purposes, that was the last time she was on a set. Having married her boyfriend, restaurateur Farhan Azmi in 2009, Ayesha happily receded from fame.

She has rarely ever made public appearances post her sabbatical-cum-retirement. However, the once-in-a-blue-moon instances, whenever they do crop up, sends the internet into a tizzy for reasons unknown. Earlier this year, Ayesha was photographed at the airport in a simple blue salwar kameez in what she later pointed out was a moment that lasted for “basically a few seconds”. However, it still lives rent-free in the minds of many and is now being linked in progression to the next, very recent chapter of dissecting her looks.

Shortly after the airport episode, Ayesha took to her Instagram stories to share an elaborate note calling trolls out for being so hell-bent when it comes to dissecting her looks whenever they spot the opportunity. “Literally get over me yaar. I have zero interest in doing any films or any comeback like (people) are saying. I’m living my life happily, never want to be in the limelight, not interested in any fame, don’t wanna be in any film…”, read an excerpt.

Irrespective of if Ayesha has gone under the knife or not, she has never addressed the same. And while people are entitled to hurtful and intrusive opinions, Ayesha’s note pointed out an important, disconcerting observation. That of the male gaze against the myth of the un-ageing woman. “Expecting a girl whose mostly been seen in her teens to look identical even after 15 years…How unrealistic and ridiculous are these people…”, read another excerpt.

For context, these are some specimens of the usual tone and tenor of the comments under her posts, and anywhere else where her photos are being discussed: “Ye kya ? Ye Konsa jeev hai ? Humne to Tarzan me dekha kuch or tha yaha aya kuch or hai”, “Why you have done botox like this?? Ur earlier looks was so pretty…”, “Zaroorat kya thi ? Kya thi zaroorat ?”, “U wer so beautiful nd natural…..u destroyed the real beauty for this artificial look 😒😒😒😒” and “Egyptian mummy lg rhii h😂😂😂”.

To somewhat balance it out, there are comments which carry more sense. For instance: “If someone is not working in the industry anymore, they should not be discussed. Just because she did some movies a decade back doesn’t mean she owes anything to anyone. Let her live her life peacefully” and “People expect women to look the same they did in their teens or twenties for the rest of their lives. If they don’t do anything they are aging badly. If they do something they are fake and still aging badly. It’s exhausting”. But this represents a small majority.

The usual argument presented by trolls is the idea that being a public figure automatically entitles all aspects of one’s life to endless scrutiny. However flawed the rationale behind this may be, in Ayesha’s case it still remains that she isn’t in fact a public figure anymore. And in her defence, she has made no sneaky efforts to keep herself in the news either. The entitlement displayed by keyboard warriors then, hints at a bigger issue — the parasocial mindset.