`Tu marr kyu nahi jaati`: Jamie Lever recalls comments she received for her look

Jamie Lever, daughter of ace comedian and actor Johnny Lever, is a woman of many talents. She can dance, act, mimic, and make you laugh with her incredible skills. She recently opened up about her growing years and how people around her reacted to her physical appearance. Jamie revealed that she was insecure about her body, as she was an obese child.

Jamie Lever says she was called `chudail`

In an interview with Hauterrfly, Lever recalled the kind of comments she received during her early years based on her looks. “I got so many comments. Kaali hai (she’s dark), chudail lagti hai (she looks like a witch), chudail jaise hasti hai (she laughs like a witch), you are ugly, you won`t get work in the industry, tu marr kyu nahi jaati (why don’t you just die), you are not getting work because of the way you look… Aisi shakal waali ladkiyon ko film nahi milti (girls who look like this don’t get films). I have received such messages all my life. Colourism is such a huge issue here. Growing up, people would ask me to apply ubtans, turmeric masks, all of this to `become fair`… Colourism is a major problem in our country.”

Lever said that her insecurity about her body was so intense that she would cover herself from head to toe. “There was a phase when I used to wear long kurtas to cover my body. Even my family asked me to cover my posterior because I have bigger hips. I have a pear-shaped body — so what do I do about it? I was told to do something about my body, and I didn’t like myself. My body was an embarrassment for me, and it is only much later in life that I learned how to own my body and my curves.”

When Jamie got flashed at the age of 10

In the same interview, Jamie recalled a traumatising incident from her school days. She said that once her driver picked her up from school and was waiting outside for her brother to join them. “He asked me to wait in the car. My friend and I were chatting in the back seat. One creepy guy came, stood at the window behind her, flashed me and started masturbating. It was the first time I’d seen a male part and I was so shocked. I didn’t understand what was happening. I was so young, maybe 10-12. I started trembling because I thought he’d open the door and do something,” she said.

She further recalled her school bus conductor being inappropriate toward her. “Our school bus conductor was so inappropriate with us, he would touch us. Some days, I feel like it’s all a bad dream…I have suppressed these memories. He’s supposed to protect children, but he had a sick mind. I became so closed off, I didn’t let men into my life. I only dated once I moved abroad in my 20s,” she said

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