Actor Kiara Advani has said that she isn’t sure how to react to comparisons with Hema Malini, and doesn’t she appreciate the word ‘doppelganger’ being used to describe a fan named Aishwarya, who recreates her film scenes on social media.

Kiara was most recently seen in the war film Shershaah, opposite Sidharth Malhotra. Aishwarya, who is a doctor in real life, had re-enacted the film’s emotional climactic scene, which Kiara eventually watched.

But the actor said that one shouldn’t reduce Aishwarya’s identity. Similarly, she commented on how she is often compared with Hema Malini. While a leading daily initially quoted her as saying that she finds it ‘weird’ to be compared with Hema Malini, the sentence was subsequently edited out of Kiara’s statement, after insistence from her reps. “It’s truly an honour to be compared to Hema ji, she’s so beautiful. I don’t know how to react to it. I mean, it’s great to be compared to her, but I am also my own person. I like the way I look and I want to look like myself,” she said in the updated version of the story. 

Commenting on Aishwarya being called her ‘doppelganger’, Kiara said, “I don’t really like the word doppelganger. I know what she’s doing is flattering, but what’s interesting to me is that she’s a doctor in real life. She’s her own personality and it’s very sweet that she likes to recreate my looks. I’ve been told in the past that I look like someone and that’s great, but at the end of the day, you have to be the person who you really are.”

Also read: When Hema Malini admitted her family opposed marriage with Dharmendra: ‘I called him and said…’

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Aishwarya said about her resemblance to Kiara, “It feels wonderful when people start recognising you from a viral video, when people appreciate your looks, especially when you are compared with such a beauty. Many mistook me to be Kiara! They called me ‘true copy’, ‘doppelganger’, ‘ditto’ and even asked me to recreate more looks. My joy knew no bounds when Kiara commented on the video.”