COLORISM IN BOLLYWOOD

We are all accustomed with “Bollywood” or the Indian film Industry, a place where dreams come true and where fictional characters come to life. The Indian film industry has provided us with an uncountable number of blockbuster movies. Thanks to the stellar performances of the actors, these films have successfully left a deep imprint in all of our hearts and minds. Besides acting and films, Bollywood is also considered to be the epitome of beauty and glamour.

AND PERHAPS THAT IS WHERE THE DISCREPANCY LIES. In order to live upto the social beauty standards, Bollywood has never taken the risk to provide opportunities to those people who can’t measure up to them. We have a bunch of critically acclaimed and successful films but unfortunately most of them fail to spread the idea of equality amongst the common people.

Let’s take a look at such films:

1. BALA – It’s a film about a young man who suffers from premature balding and struggles to measure upto social beauty standards. But, as his insecurity starts threatening his marriage, he seeks help from a dark complexioned lawyer.

The film as mentioned above features a dark complexioned lawyer who plays a pivotal role in the young man’s life as she helps him to fight such stereotypes. Adhering to the demands of the script the casting directors did have an opportunity to cast a dark skinned artist. Clearly the director did not do so. They all played it safe by casting a fair skinned artist and her skin was darkened using beauty products. A film which was made to defy stereotypes about social beauty standards, itself promoted the idea of colorism by not hiring a dark skinned artist.

India’s obsession with fair skin is well known and deep rooted. Color prejudices are widespread in India. Portrayal of dark skinned characters by fair skinned actors can be considered as an open practice of colorism.

1. Super 30 – This film is based on the true story of a mathematical genius, Anand Kumar, who hails from the north Indian state of Bihar. The film shows how Kumar formed a group of 30 bright students from underprivileged backgrounds and helped them crack one of India’s most competitive engineering exams.

The lead actor in this film had his skin darkened with the help of makeup.

1. If there was a demand for a dark skinned character why didn’t the filmmaker cast a dark skinned artist in the film?

The fair skinned artist dons a brownface as the audience needs to be assured that the glamour is still there behind the mask. A dark skinned artist who has a lot of potential might not be well received by the common public because of his/her skin tone which is highly dismaying. Hence the fair skinned artists are asked to portray dark skinned characters for public approval and the film’s success.

Brownface refers to the ethnic impersonation of people with brown skin.

The prejudice regarding dark skin tone is an age-old belief which still flourishes in a so – called “modern” world full of technical advancement and institutional reforms. We can clearly understand that modern technology is not an indicator of advancement.

It is very ironic to see how humans with such backdated mindsets work every day for the progress of the world.

Until and unless we free ourselves from the stranglehold of such stereotypes we cannot label ourselves as modern people. An artist should be known for his/her art not for his/her looks.

Dark skinned artists have faced a lot of criticism and backlash because of their physical appearance. The stereotypical portrayal of a hero as a muscled, fair, handsome and tall person has had a deep impact on the audience’s mind. Such kind of repetitive description of heroes in films has created problems in an artist’s life. Just because of their looks, something which is completely involuntary, they cannot have aspirations of becoming an actor. Their dreams of entertaining people and being a part of the film industry are shattered into pieces by these irrational stereotypes which claim that your skin tone should decide your potential, not your talent. But there are still people who have earned fame, wealth and respect with their immaculate portrayal of the characters in the films. One of the finest actors of Bollywood, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is known for his excellent performances in his films.

Gangs of Wasseypur part 1, Gangs of Wasseypur part 2, Badlapur, Thackeray are some of the hits delivered by this actor.

Manoj Bajpayee is another well known actor who has struggled a lot in the early days of his career because of his looks. Shool, Pinjar, Chhitagong are some of his most underrated performances. Gangs Of Wasseypur was one of his most successful films.

We have a voice and we need to use this as a tool to condemn the practice of colorism not only in Bollywood but in all parts of the world. You need to raise your voice because you have the power to bring equality amongst all the artists irrespective of their skin color or cultural background.