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| Nandita Das: 'Indians are very racist. There is so much pressure that perpetuates this idea that fair is the ideal.' |
"You look green!" said a friend. "Are you ill?" asked another. Last year, a reputed Indian daily published a photograph of me on the web version of newspaper that had been lightened so drastically by the art director' magic wand that I called the editor to complain and he apologised and replaced it with the original. The art director had thought he was doing me a favour by making me look fair.
Indians are known to be lovers of fair skin and this obsession is well documented. In 1978 consumer goods company Unilever launched Fair & Lovely cream, which has subsequently spawned a wide range of whitening face cleansers, shower gels and even vaginal washes which claim to lighten the surrounding skin. In 2010, country's whitening-cream market was worth $432m, according to a report by market researchers firm ACNielsen, and was growing annually at the rate of 18 per cent. According to a report, last year, Indians reportedly consumed 233 tonnes of skin-whitening products, thereby spending more money on them than on Coca-Cola.
Cricket stars and Bollywood actors regularly endorse these products. But now the film star Nandita Das has taken a stance against the unfair bias and given her support to the Dark is Beautiful campaign which challenges the faith that beauty and success are determined by the colour of skin. "I want people to feel easy and comfortable in their own skin and recognise that there is much more to life than skin colour," she says, adding that an Indian magazine had written "about my support for the campaign and then lightened the photo of me that went alongside it".
While the actress agrees that there is a long history behind the obsession with fair skin, owing to caste and culture, she thinks the present causes should be targeted first. "Indians are very racist. It is deeply ingrained. But there is so much pressure by peer groups, magazines, billboards and TV advertisements which perpetuate this belief that fair is the ideal," she says.
Das tells about directors and makeup artists in the film industry who try to lighten her when she plays the role of an educated, upper-class woman. "They always say to me: 'Don't worry, we will make you fair, we're really good at it,' as a reassurance. It's perpetuating a stereotype which only fair-skinned women can be educated and successful."
In 2005, the cosmetic products company Emami launched Fair & Handsome for men, with an ad starring the Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan tossing a tube of whitening cream to a hopeful young fan, which the Dark is Beautiful campaign is seeking to have withdrawn. "Shah Rukh Khan is saying that to be successful you have to be fair," says Das. "Don't these people have any kind of conscience? You can't be naive; you know what kind of impact you have and yet you send out the message which says: 'Forget about working hard, it's about skin colour.'"
Dark is beautiful is an awareness campaign that seeks to draw attention to the unfair effects of skin colour bias and also celebrates the beauty and diversity of all skin tones.
Launched in 2009 by Women of Worth, the campaign challenges the faith that the value and beauty of people (in India and worldwide), is determined by the colour of their skin. This faith, shaped by societal attitudes and reinforced by media messages, is damaging the self-worth of countless people, young and old.
Some of our surveys have revealed that women with darker complexions:
- Are generally seen as the second or last option in industries that seem to set beauty norms, such as fashion, film, hospitality and services,etc.
- Have been discriminated against in the workplace, and feel they have to work harder to be accepted by their peers
- Have been insulted and mistreated by their own relatives
- Have been rejected by potential marriage partners