Racism and Bollywood

Racism upholds and values white standards of beauty, including the preference for straight hair or thin lips and noses is a product of racism. It continues to be pervasive, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Stereotypes have been used in advertisements as long as they have been around, and different ads over time have been thought by some to be more racist than others.

The Indian audience is not new to racism in ads. Or at least, colorism. It does become harder to spot, however, considering how obsessed we are with fair skin.

Let me take this example, you all must know Yami Gautam is the face of fair n lovely. They show us how wearing that cream will brighten our skin and we will get jobs and promotions and friends. I mean how naïve can this go? This actually means that if you are not Yami-Gautam level fair life will go downhill for you. Yes they have changed their name to glow and lovely but what about the other brands, what about the people’s emotions?

India forms part of the fastest-growing market for skin lightening products – the Asia-Pacific region. The sheer number of fair advertisements and the who’s who of tinsel town endorsing these products is telling of this trend. Prominent names, right from Mammootty, Trisha, and Kavya Madhavan to Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, and Shah Rukh Khan are guilty of telling millions of people that if they have lighter skin, things will start falling into place in their lives.

To really be diverse will be uncomfortable for a lot of brands, a lot of creatives, and also the audience. But that's where we will find our truest liberation.

If advertising and marketing must shed discriminatory practices, however unintentional, and stereotypes and clichés turned into gospel after decades of unrestrained use, then people in the business must start with asking some uncomfortable questions like, "Am I a racist?"