Vijay Deverakonda's Liger Poster puts spotlight on male body image issues

The poster of Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday -starrer Liger was unveiled recently. The poster featured Deverakonda who bared it all and was seen posing in the buff - with only a bouquet of roses hiding his crotch. Soon after the poster’s release, #SexiestPosterEver started trending on Twitter as Deverakonda’s fans couldn’t help but laud his sheer confidence and boldness to pull off a nude act. While Vijay’s poster received a thunderous response from Twitterati, it also sparked an important conversation around the body positive movement and if men have felt included in it. While there is a lot of chatter (as there should be) around the unrealistic beauty standards and body standards that the social media, films and TV force on women, we hardly see any public discourse on male body image issues. When we see Kardashians proudly claim that they don’t eat for weeks to fit into a dress or Disha Patani and Nora Fatehi flaunt their fit body in films and on Instagram - we immediately empathize with women, especially the young ones, who might get the idea that they are worthless if their body is not a certain way. However, when we see the men - the likes of John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapoor and now Vijay Deverakonda flexing their bulging biceps, swollen pecs and chiseled abs, we rarely talk about the negative impact such well-built and muscular bodies can have on the psyche of young boys, who would feel they are worthless if they do not have a muscular body. While everyone is seen appreciating Vijay for his spectacular look, there is hardly talking about the intense hard work - including exercise, workouts and dieting that went into achieving it. As per a Pinkvilla report, Vijay, who was already in a good shape, had to go ‘a little extra’ in order to look aesthetic for the poster shoot. To make his muscles more defined, he was made to do more supersets and drop sets so his body burns fat at a faster rate. In the last one week before the poster shoot, Vijay underwent posing practice sessions where he learnt how to make his muscles look better. Each posing session lasted 30 minutes, which the report claims was ‘very tiring’ for Vijay. Needless to say, Deverakonda put himself and his body under tremendous pressure and stress to achieve the look. While he deserves all the applause for his hard work and dedication - we must all ask ourselves if an average Indian man, who works a tough 9-5 job, has a family and kids can devote so much time to get into the perfect shape. While it may have been easier still for Vijay, who was already training to be an MMA fighter for Liger, for other men - especially those who work in high-pressure environments might find it extremely hard to build muscle and achieve Vijay’s look. As a result, more men would be dissatisfied with their bodies, leading to body image issues and muscle dysmorphia. It is important to note that Vijay is not the first male actor who kickstarted the trend of men baring it all for a film. In the past, we have seen Aamir Khan and John Abraham pose naked for PK and Dostana respectively. While the ‘size zero’ trend for women started with Kareena Kapoor in Tashan, men have always had a tough body standard to live up to. What seems more problematic is the way we applaud the male actors for achieving a physique which we know would have been impossible for an average Indian man to achieve given the intense amount of handwork and dedication that it requires. This is probably why bodybuilding and muscle flexing are considered a careers in their own right because it is nearly impossible to take them up as a side hobby along with a career. But the fact that we applaud men who manage to do the impossible and have a career along with building a muscular body puts an unfair pressure on men who might not have the mental and physical stamina to pull off such an incredible feat. This, in turn, leads to more dissatisfaction with one’s body. While Vijay, of course, deserves all the praise he is getting for his jaw-dropping physique, we must also acknowledge that the physique is possible to achieve only if one puts in an insane amount of effort and dedication which might not be possible for all men. And that does not make them any less of a man. It only makes them more human! Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .