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JUNE 12, 2020 | Entertainment EYE| The Indian Eye 43
Bollywood’s obsession with
whiteness under the scanner as
top stars back #Blacklivesmatter
A-list Bollywood actresses, including Priyanka Chopra, shared
posts against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis
Our BureAu for their anti-racism social me-
Mumbai dia posts while having featured
in ads for skin fairness products.
everal Bollywood stars India’s multibillion-dollar
have been labelled “hypo- skin lightening industry has a
Scrites” after speaking out host of products appearing to of-
against racism to lend support fer dark-skinned Indians a light-
to global protests while promot- er, fairer and ostensibly “better”
ing products in India designed to version of themselves, often en-
make people’s skin lighter. The dorsed by the Bollywood’s top
actors were also trolled and ac- Sonam Kapoor Deepika Padukone actors.
cused of “cowardice” for their Social media users also ques-
refusal to call out the attacks on ted endorsing such a product as Actresses Sonam Kapoor tioned why Bollywood continued
India’s minorities, mainly Mus- a young actress and that she is Ahuja, Deepika Padukone and to write lyrics and dialogues that
lims, while protesting against the proud of her dark skin. Disha Patani also faced criticism equated fairness with beauty.
killing of George Floyd in the Kangana Ranaut, a noted ac-
United States. Bollywood has serious pC problem tress, spoke out against her Bol-
A series of A-list Bollywood lywood colleagues for promoting
actresses, including Priyanka Many Indian films will fail the test for various reasons fairness products. “These peo-
Chopra, shared posts on social ple, especially Indian celebrities,
media to protest against the • Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch the successful ones ... have been
Hota Hai had problematic
death of Floyd who died in po- ideals of an “attractive wom- endorsing all kinds of fairness
lice custody after a white offi- an” and femininity products and today shameless-
cer knelt on his neck for nearly • In Shah Rukh Khan-Manisha ly they stand and say black lives
nine minutes. “End this race war matter - I mean how dare they?”
here in the US, and around the Koirala starrer Dil Se, Khan’s she said in an interview.
world. Wherever you live, what- character, Amarkanth Var- Meanwhile, many in India
ever your circumstances, NO ma, fails to understand what also criticised the Bollywood ac-
‘no’ means, with Koirala’s
ONE deserves to die, especially character being anything but tors for their silence when Indians
at the hands of another because ambiguous about her feelings face atrocities and other forms
of their skin colour,” Chopra, 37, towards him of violence. “So much respect
posted on Instagram. for all the celebrities tweeting
“People were quick to call • A funny little segment in #BLACK_LIVES_MATTER.
her out on social media for pre- Nikhil Advani’s Kal Ho Na It takes courage to bring your
Ho of Kanta Ben freaking
viously promoting an “intense out watching two men in bed cowardice to the fore when you
fairness moisturiser”. They also together snowballed into an- • Bhumi Pednekar appeared in tweet for American lives but can’t
pointed at her role in a 2008 other Dharma Productions brownface in Bala. tweet for Indian lives,” tweeted
Hindi film, Fashion, in which she Omar Abdullah, former chief
is ashamed of having sex with a nightmare — Dostana which • In Hum Aapke Hain Koun, minister of the erstwhile Jammu
black man. “Thanks for speak- caricatured homosexuality the movie showed that any and Kashmir state, now divid-
ing out for black lives. But, may- • Saawan Kumar Tak’s 1983 film woman can be used as com- ed into two federal territories.
Souten featured Shreeram
pensation for a dead wife or
be also stop supporting a skin Lagoo sporting blackface to motherless child. Others asked why the Bolly-
bleaching cream which promotes underline the fact that he was • Dhanush’s superhit Raanjha- wood actors do not take a stand
anti-blackness,” one user replied playing a Dalit character. naa caused a furore because on contentious issues such as
to Chopra’s Instagram post. the “anti-Muslim” Citizenship
Chopra, a former Miss World • Sunny Deol starrer Ghatak of its glorification of stalking Amendment Act passed by the
who became a star in both Bolly- (1996) featured an entire in the name of love. India re- government late last year, or the
wood and Hollywood, has said in song sequence with backup cords a case of stalking every protests and violence that fol-
dancers in blackface
55 minutes.
past interviews that she regret- lowed after the passage of the law.
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