Our culture is obsessed with having light skin; perhaps it’s an innate quality that has been ingrained in our minds through decades of cultural practices. But there’s a distinct distinction between inherently wanting to seem radiant and robust and excessively going to great measures to obtain artificial results simply because it’s associated with a certain ‘accepted’ characteristic. It’s the result of programmed mentality, and it’s the result of new age materialism.
Going back in time, our obsession with fair skin as a preferred type of beauty may be directly traced to the Aryan conquests of India, which established the skin colour dominance complex through its aristocratic structures and caste systems. Furthermore, with so many subsequent foreign invaders, from Mongolians and Persians to the British, the superior people tactic of throwing the natives, particularly the Dravidian race, into a circular pattern of low self-esteem was always an inherent characteristic of the superior race tactic to hurl the natives, particularly the Dravidian race, into a loop of worthlessness. And which the British have flinched away from utilising as “white man’s superiority” narrative to cement their dominance over freshly conquered India.
Sai Pallavi was in the headlines a few years ago for declining a fairness cream advertisement even though the big brands were willing to give her a hefty Rs 2 crore for it. Sai Pallavi now has explained why she declined the offer whilst marketing NGK.
Pallavi acknowledged in an interview with Behindwoods that she’ll have to decline the offer because it would give out the wrong messages to our beautiful Indian women. The actress claims to be all-natural, it’s true because she rarely uses makeup. Sai Pallavi wants women to be comfortable with their skin. Hence she has no interest in endorsing such brands.
Colourism is a major issue in India. It has infiltrated not only society but even the entertainment world. It’s no wonder, then, that the majority of Bollywood performers have complexions that are deemed acceptable. Otherwise, they would eventually opt for skin whitening to conform to the requirements.
