‘Bounce back? From where?’: Katrina Kaif hits back at postpartum body-shaming in her Vogue India cover interview

Katrina Kaif has pushed back against the pressure on new mothers to “bounce back” after giving birth. She was speaking in her cover interview for Vogue India’s November–December 2026 issue, published on Wednesday (28 October). The magazine said it is her first Vogue India cover in eight years.

“Bounce back? From where?” she told the magazine. “I have taken a step ahead to something that was a deep desire in my heart, so why would I want to go back? The first few days after I gave birth, it was an indescribable feeling to see Vihaan’s face and know that four years of a journey for me and Vicky had led to this. I am very aware of my fitness journey and where my body feels at its most energetic. I will reach there at my own pace.”

Katrina and her husband, actor Vicky Kaushal, welcomed their son Vihaan on 7 November 2025, India Today reported. In September, she was trolled online over her appearance after she attended the Ambani family’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Mumbai with Kaushal, according to The Indian Express and India Today.

She had a clear answer for her critics. “We live in a world that wants to blow us around in the ever-changing winds of opinions,” she told Vogue. “I think most people are aware of what a woman’s body goes through after giving birth. And if they still choose to view that body through a harsh lens, it’s a personal choice. It can’t be blamed on a lack of information, because there is so much information out there. I just want to focus on this lovely part of my life and where I’m headed.”

She also spoke warmly about Kaushal, who she said “is an incredible husband. He is wise beyond his years, has strong family values and a true sense of integrity.” She told the magazine that he has “this incredible superpower to be 100 per cent present in the moment with Vihaan and me, even when he is tired and has been working 14, 16 or 18 hours a day.”

According to Vogue, Katrina is spending more time away from social media and refuses to miss Vihaan’s bedtime. She has no immediate plans to return to films. When she does, she wants to play a villain. “I think I’d make a great Maleficent,” she said.