Aastha Shah to walk Cannes red carpet as first Indian content creator with vitiligo

NEW DELHI: Mumbai-based Aastha Shah will walk the red carpet at the 77th Cannes Film Festival as the first Indian content creator with the skin disorder, vitiligo.

Breaking barriers and redefining beauty standards, Aastha is poised to make a powerful statement from one of the world's most watched cinema events. The journey of the content creator with 9,44,000 (and counting!) followers is being supported by the popular short videos magazine, 'Brut'.

Speaking about her journey, Aastha told IANS: "I have been living with vitiligo since I was a child. Initially, I had patches and was on medication. I was never really conscious about my body because my parents always made me feel comfortable. It was society at large that made me feel like there was something wrong with me."

The 26-year-old diva said that she stopped medication after her vitiligo spread all over her body. Aastha took this call because she wanted to start accepting herself the way she was and encourage everybody around her to do the same.

"My journey started with Humans of Bombay, who covered my story and it reached millions of people," Aastha said. "I started reaching out to many more people through various social media platforms and also got to collaborate with brands to make a real change. I collaborated with the beauty brand Nykaa to launch a new shade of foundation in my colour, I also got an opportunity to be alongside powerful, inspirational and beautiful women on the Cosmopolitan cover for their Women's Day issue," Aastha added.

Vitiligo is a condition characterised by a steady loss of skin pigment. Aastha expressed the hope that her Cannes appearance would convey her message of inclusivity and acceptance to a much wider audience.

On the kinds of challenges she faced because of the skin disorder, Aastha said: "I used to face a lot of bullying for the way my skin looked, I was told to cover myself up all the time and not wear anything revealing. My condition was constantly stigmatised as contagious, contrary to facts."

She added: "But it never really got to me because I had my family who were always very supportive and never made me feel like there was something wrong with me."

Aastha described Canadian fashion model Winnie Harlow, who is known globally as the 'Vitiligo Queen', as her biggest inspiration.

"She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The way she walks and wears her skin with grace is what I have been looking up to always," Aastha said.

As Aastha prepares to make history at Cannes, she said she carried with her the hopes and dreams of a generation longing for acceptance and representation.

She said: "My purpose is to make many others like me feel that it is normal to dream big and have bigger goals in life."