You only have to switch on the television to get a sense of how deep-rooted colourism is in India. Advertisements regularly peddle skincare and makeup products that can make you ‘fair’, and thereby successful in all aspects of life! Desi parents stop children from being in the sun too long, not because of the harmful UV rays but because they might get tanned!
To put an end to this fairness obsession, actor and director Nandita Das started the “Dark is Beautiful” campaign through her NGO “Woman of Worth” 10 years ago. After a decade, on its anniversary, she’s released a music video named “India’s got Colour”.
Sung by rappers MC Josh, Huma Sayyed and Amogh Baini, the 2-minute clip features music by Ankur Tewari. It tackles the issue of skin colour discrimination by showcasing the different forms it takes – like brightening a model’s skin tone using Photoshop and the preference for fair brides.
It urges everyone to rise above such bias and celebrate the different shades of desi skin. Check it out.
The video has been co-produced by Mahesh Mathai and includes a star-studded cast of talented actors like Radhika Apte, Ratna Pathak Shah, Suchitra Pillai, Swara Bhaskar, Shweta Tripathi, Sayani Gupta, Divya Dutta, Patralekha, Ali Fazal and Vikrant Massey.
People are applauding the campaign and spreading the message of embracing diversity in all its forms –Â Â religious beliefs, political beliefs, cuisines, festivals and most importantly skin colour!
Your skin color doesn’t define who u r. Together we can put an end to colourism #IndiasGotColour
— Vivek Agnihotri (@viveklkw) September 25, 2019
A very beautiful way to spread love and respect the diversity and our identity. #IndiasGotColour
— bitu. (@Iam__Bitu) September 25, 2019
Never let the differences of our skin colours darken the true colours of humanity. Be humble and beautiful in your own skin. #IndiasGotColour
— Ved | وید پرکاش (@AAPVed) September 25, 2019
Take a bow @NanditaDasINC and all the stalwarts who’ve taken the time out to convert many hurt emotions into this piece of motivation. In a country where being light skinned is statistically the ‘minority’ its a pity we still need this in 2019 though!! #IndiasGotColour https://t.co/iNdL8ggERi
— Nitya Satyani (@nityasatyani) September 28, 2019
We can be fair, dusky, dark or any other shade. And we can all be beautiful in our own skin. #IndiasGotColour
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) September 25, 2019
Every colour is special, we can be beautiful, no matter the skin tone we have.
We are different in so many ways, be it in the flavors we relish, the festivals we enjoy and even in the skin tones we all have. And we are all beautiful we are in our own ways. #IndiasGotColour #India pic.twitter.com/LwRDETeoZw— Piyush Deshmukh (@piyushlinks) September 25, 2019
Really happy to know our favorite celebs coming together for a conversation about colourism! #IndiasGotColour
— Jamod Kishan (@JamodKishan5) September 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/ItsAvneet11/status/1176857268974809088
The celebs in the #IndiasGotColour video are known for their brilliant work, not for their skin colours. Let your work do the talking! #IndiasGotColour
— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) September 25, 2019
Brands, are you listening? Stop marketing skin whitening products and start working towards eliminating the skin colour bias in India.