The perception around beauty in our country seems to have narrowed down so much in the past few decades, that people have started believing that beauty is indeed dependant on the colour of one’s skin.
But that is clearly not the case.
Nevertheless, the bias and prejudice we see almost everywhere around us, tells us a different story. And the film industry is no exception to that.
The Hindi film industry has long propagated the notion of ‘fair is beautiful’, be it the lyrics to some songs, or the way people are cast for roles based on their complexion.
Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui – who’s easily one of the greatest talents we have today, was also faced with such prejudice, leading to his own internal insecurities – during his younger years.
Speaking of his inferiority complex, in relation to his beautiful dark complexion, the actor recently appeared on a Q&A session for Cinema Express, and here’s what he had to say:
“I too grew up applying these fairness creams, expecting miraculous results. In fact, I remember that once, I didn’t even realize that the cream I was using wasn’t Fair and Lovely, but some fake called Fare and Lovely. I spent a lot of time trying to make my skin fairer.”
Nawaz makes valid points in that regard, referring to the trend of producers always casting fair-looking actors and actresses in leading roles. If we browse through some of the most popular movies in mainstream Hindi cinema, it would be difficult to come across diversity – be it the skin complexions or the lack of representation of regional faces.
Nawaz further said:
“In mainstream Bollywood cinema, is there any really black-looking actor, male or female? I had an inferiority complex at first. But I guess the good thing is, I realized that since I couldn’t do anything about my face, I would be better served to focus on my craft. I knew I was nothing when it came to my personality or my looks. It took some time to come out of that trauma, but I’m glad I made that decision.”
Thankfully we have reached a point, not only in our cinema but also in our society – where people are constantly questioning the well-ingrained evil habits or the elephant in the room.
Things like colour-based discrimination, should have no place in modern world – even when it comes to casting for movies in showbiz.