Abhay Deol Is Calling Out The Fairness Cream Industry - And Celebrities Who Endorse It

If you’re in need of an industry that’s vicious, cutthroat, sexist, racist, nepotistic - and probably any other ‘-ist’ you can imagine - you need not look any further than Bollywood. While most people in the industry prefer to keep their heads down and get on with it, some have been speaking out against the inequalities. Most recently, Abhay Deol took to Facebook to voice his opinions on the repercussions of fairness creams and the role of actors who endorse them. This is mighty refreshing coming from inside an Industry that has it’s roots sown largely within the false notion of ‘fairer the better.’

One long scroll through this Facebook page, and you’ll see that the actor has gone on a true rampage of sorts, calling out the biggest names in the Industry such as Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, John Abraham, Vidya Balan and Sonam Kapoor to name a few. Across multiple posts, he has unabashedly yet sarcastically drawn attention to photoshop skills that are near genius, as well as blatant lies on packaging and the ads themselves that compel people into bringing these products home. He has even addressed the notion that fairness is not only a concept pursued with hidden dreams by women, but also men. The fact that there are specific product placements today for men and women show us how far down the seed has buried itself into our psyche.

To compliment his spectrum of “call-outs”, we also see a post on Nandita Das’s ‘Dark is Beautiful’ campaign, and the fact that these words actually do need to be said out loud. The very idea that you can be dark and beautiful needs convincing, and is one that is met with instantaneous disdain. For a long time, this conversation has been in the shadows of the burgeoning Hindi film industry and it was about time that someone from within stood up against this outrage. While the onus does come down to each individual person and the choices they make for themselves, we feel it would help a tad bit if the icons for success, fame and ‘the Indian dream’ didn’t encourage people into thinking that fair skin is the solution to all of life’s problems.

It’s not.

This is Abhay Deol’s post on his Facebook Page

“There’s a lot more of these campaigns that are blatantly, and sometimes subtly, selling you the idea that whiter skin is better than darker skin. No one at the top of their game in any field is going to tell you that it is demeaning, false, and racist.

You have to see that for yourself. You have to stop buying into the idea that a particular shade is better than others. Unfortunately if you look at matrimonial ads you will see how entrenched in our psyche this belief is. We even use the word ‘dusk’ to describe the colour of someones skin!

While an individual may not be able to change this attitude in his/her community, he/she can at least start with the family.”

If you want to know more about the brands and actors propagating skin whitening, read our story here.