Mumbai, Jul 1 (IANS): Actress-director Konkona Sen Sharma, who has been receiving a lot of positive response to her short film in the streaming anthology 'Lust Stories 2', shared that she struggled in the early part of her acting career to look a certain way and "to fit in."

Konkona's short film, which stars Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash as the lead characters, explores female gaze and voyeurism.

Sharing her thoughts on the existing stereotypes around women and their need for sexual and romantic pleasure, Konkona Sen Sharma said: "Very often, the bodies that are allowed to feel the sexual/romantic pleasure are very limited because usually they have to be thin, fair, rich and young - that was the fourth factor. So usually only those kinds of bodies are allowed to desire and also there have been certain limitations in terms of how people from different economic backgrounds are portrayed."

She told Film Companion: "I've been acting for twenty years and I've struggled in the early part of my career to look a certain way or to fit in. It's great in a way because it has helped me not seek external validation. I feel we have a very narrow focus on what's desirable and it’s nice to be able to talk about this."

'Lust Stories 2' is streaming on Netflix.