India’s obsession with fair skin just won’t go away. Completely sidelining the fact that India is a nation of dark-skinned people, many, including celebs are still judged and shamed for their dusky complexion. Newton actor Anjali Patil, in an interview to a daily, spoke about all the stereotypes she faced because of her skin tone and how she felt hurt and humiliated and eventually overcame everybody’s judgment. This video of Anjali is testimony on how Indians cannot stop obsessing over a fair skin tone and can never grow past ‘gora chitta’.
Speaking about the stereotype and her insecurity, Anjali said, “I did not like myself because I felt I was not perfect. I thought I didn’t have the skin tone, I have two big lips.” Explaining her struggle during school time, Anjali said, “I remember in school, I’d be the one choreographing things and all. But in the main event, they used to put me in the back.”
How makeup was used to make her look fair, she said:
“When I started applying makeup in the initial days, I used to tell the artist to not make me fair. Please use the foundation as per my skin tone. But they didn’t listen. Half an hour later I used to see the stark difference between my shoulders, face and neck. They’d make it too bright. That’s when I started doing my makeup on my own.”
This wasn’t it. Anjali faced discrimination at work as well. She recalled,
“One of the DOPs asked me why I didn’t carry my own reflector? I was offered scripts where I was asked to play characters who don’t belong to illustrious occupations.”
Coming to the entire point of discrimination, Anjali said,
“Who is defining standards of beauty? We are fed with the very same images of a class, of a woman, a man. We are made to believe that a Marathi is supposed to look and how a North-Indian’s features have to be. Who decides that a person of dark tone shouldn’t wear red lipstick? They should not wear white because it’ll make them look dark?”
“It hurts, we feel humiliated. But I have accepted that I am the way I am. We are all unconventional and beautiful in our own way,” Anjali added.
Also read: Brown and lovely: Internet weighs in on India’s obsession with ‘being fair’
By speaking up against discrimination of skin-colour, Anjali has definitely spoken what needed to be heard. You go, girl!
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