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Remember little Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? Shah Rukh Khan’s co-star Sana Saeed recently opened up about one of the most heartbreaking stories of her life regarding her health. The actress opened up about secretly battling bulimia for years, admitting she lived with shame, believed she was completely alone, and didn’t even realise she had an eating disorder. Looking back, Sana says society’s obsession with being skinny and constant comments about appearance made her relationship with food and her body deeply complicated.
Sana Saeed on her battle with Bulimia
Talking to Hindustan Times, Sana Saeed said, “I first came to Los Angeles to study acting and filmmaking in 2016. When I went home, I couldn’t name it yet, but I knew I had to return.
I was being called to it. I’d lived my whole life in India up to that point and I think my soul just wanted a new adventure. Leaving my friends and family was harder than I expected. I knew the move would affect my work and I’d made peace with that going in. Starting over somewhere nobody knows your history is humbling, but it also cleared space for me to decide who I actually wanted to be.”
The actress added, “My husband had already been living here for a while by the time I made the move. Our production company, Beyond Magic Studios, is new and it’s something we’ve built together and we’re genuinely excited about it. We’ve come to believe, in our own ways, that going after what you want and taking risks, is the only way we want to live. I’m married to my best friend and now I get to work with him on the very thing I’ve loved my whole life. Things really do have a way of working out.”
Sana further said, “What it looked like to me was a bad habit I’d developed, something I had to figure out alone. I carried so much shame around it, thinking I was the only one dealing with this. For six years I had no name for what I was going through. I was desperate to get better and find a healthy way to eat and eventually I came across a book on recovery that gave me the language for what I was actually dealing with. That’s when the real healing began, and it took four years to recover completely.”
Sana feels that she could have recovered from Bulimia sooner if she knew what was the problem with her. “Now that I’m healed, it matters to me deeply that if my story helps even one person feel less alone in theirs, that’s worth more than the discomfort of being vulnerable in public.”
Sana further claimed, “I remember being in college and noticing all my friends around me dieting, trying to lose weight, talking about their changing bodies. That was the era of size zero when skinny was in, when there were ten different diets available on Google and everyone I knew was running on a treadmill. Becoming aware of your changing body as a young woman is completely natural, but health, nutrition, and building strength for the long run weren’t topics I grew up around. My world complimented weight loss and nothing else, not how you felt, not whether you’d gone hungry all day to look a certain way. I think the industry just amplifies something a lot of us already carry. Being on camera, being commented on, having your appearance be part of the job description. “
Sana Saeed concluded saying, “I remember telling myself that if I got married, I’d never actually enjoy a date with my husband if I was busy worrying about food. That if I ever had children, I never wanted to pass this on. If any of that was going to be my future, I had to heal first.”
Who is Sana Seed?
Sana Saeed is still remembered as the young Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and later for Student of the Year (2012). She has also done films like Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (2000) and Badal (2000). Sana even appeared in television shows such as Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na (2008) and Lo Ho Gayi Pooja Iss Ghar Ki (2008).
Sana Saeed participated in the reality shows Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6 (2013), Nach Baliye 7 (2015) and Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 7 (2016).
In 2021, she decided to move from Mumbai to Los Angeles permanently. Now, she runs her own production company in the US with husband Csaba Wagner.
What is Bulimia?
Bulimia can take a serious toll on both the mind and the body. Some common signs include binge eating followed by purging, rushing to the bathroom after meals, being overly fixated on weight or body image, skipping meals or exercising excessively to make up for eating, swollen cheeks, worn-down teeth caused by repeated vomiting, dehydration, constant fatigue and electrolyte imbalances. If left untreated, the eating disorder can lead to severe health problems, including complications affecting the heart, kidneys and digestive system.
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