5 Actors Who Used Brownface In Movies To Play A Character

Brownface In Movies: Bollywood is known for its glamorous cast, extravagant costumes, and dance sequences all around the world. But what it is also known for, is promoting the offensive practice of brownface.

Time and again, we have heard that the Indian film industry is trying to push its boundaries by breaking stereotypes and telling more inclusive stories. But why is the Indian audience still promoting, and is okay with brownfacing our actors?

Bollywood has the uncomfortable habit of employing fair-skinned actors with skin-darkening makeup on screen. This practice not only makes it difficult for dark-skinned actors to be cast in films, but it also perpetuates negative stereotypes in a country where discrimination on the basis of colour is deeply rooted in society.

Actors who play these characters are often criticised by the media and public, but this does not stop the industry to cast fair-skinned actors for dark-skinned characters. Here are 5 actors who used brownface to play a character in their movies:

Varun Dhawan in Coolie No. 1

Varun Dhawan played the role of a coolie in his latest film Coolie No. 1, and appeared a couple of shades darker than his natural skin tone to play the character because of course a 'coolie' can't be fair? His character has only taken forward the evergrowing trend of Bollywood showing people belonging to the poor economic or social background as dark-skinned.

Hrithik Roshan in Special 30

Actor Hrithik Roshan used brownface for playing characters in three of his films until now including Super 30, Agneepath, and Mohenjodaro. In all three films, the actor was playing characters who were either from a lower economical or social background. After the trailer of his film Super 30 dropped, Rohan's brownface caused a stir and netizens slammed his look and accent as unrealistic.

One of the Twitter user said that it was as cringy as a white person playing a black person in American movies, and asked that why can't the makers cast someone of the same complexion for the character.

The transformation of Hrithik Roshan's complexion in 'Super 30' is puke worthy. It is as cringey as a white person playing a black in American movies. Why can't you bloody find someone of the same complexion idiots? #Super30

— Haseen Rahman (@haseenrahman) June 4, 2019

Ranveer Singh in Gully Boy

Ranveer Singh played the role of an aspiring rapper from a Mumbai slum in Gully Boy and the film did very well on the box office and was appreciated by most of the film critics. However, some people expressed their disappointment over Ranveer's brownface and said that it was not necessary for the character.

Bhumi Pednekar in Bala

The 2019 film Bala is all about accepting yourself the way you are. But actor Bhumi Padnekar had skin-darkening makeup to play her character in the film. The filmmakers of Bala were criticised by the audiences for Pednekar's brownface instead of casting an actor with a dark skin tone.

So Bala is about a man who suffers from hair loss, who is played by Ayushman, and a dark skinned girl who gets mocked because of that. However, instead of maybe hiring a real dark skinned actress they just cast Bhumi and further darken her face. Ironic, to say the least 🤦🏻‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/IH9ImpPbyq

— lost soul I Panga (@theClaiire) October 10, 2019

Alia Bhatt in Udta Punjab

In the film Udta Punjab, Alia Bhatt played the role of a dark-skinned migrant farmer. This started a conversation on whether there is the need to cast a big Bollywood star to "carry a film", instead of casting someone from the right complexion.