Bollywood’s use of brownface does not promote representation. It promotes discrimination. And yet the film industry has the conscience to speak up against racism in the West. It’s time for celebs to check their hypocrisy.

I learnt very early in life that I cannot be called ‘beautiful,’ just ‘charming’ because of my complexion.

While it was about time that this association of beauty with fairness ends, one does wonders, if this is amere tokenism?

This lust for fairness has created a vast market for products which sell dreams of a better future to millions of women, who have to endure social shaming due to their skin tone.

We don’t need to look at the market value of whitening creams to tell us that we are a country obsessed with fairness.  All girls and women growing up in Indian households know what it means to be fair or dusky, how it affects their social relevance and decides their marital prospects, way before they […]

Actor Abhay Deol’s recent social media posts slamming our fairness fixation reminds me of the time when I realised that in India, being fair is a big deal. The year was 2014 and I had just returned to India after living abroad for most of my school and college years. It was a pleasant change for […]

In a series of social media posts on Wednesday, April 12, Bollywood actor Abhay Deol criticised India’s fixation with fairness creams and actors who endorse it. The Facebook posts were a bid on the actor’s part to create awareness about how the Indian mindset is giving way to racism in the country.