The “Fair” Treatment of Women in Modern Bollywood
Discriminating against dark skin colors while praising light skin colors undoubtedly damages and divides our society. We like to believe that colorism is a strictly Western issue, but let us not forget how prevalent and insidious colorism is in Southeast Asian nations. India’s entertainment hub, Bollywood, is indeed guilty of perpetuating this glorification of white skin - deeming it pure, sexy, and a symbol of high class (or in this case, caste).
Bollywood has churned out images of light-skinned, almost white, actresses time and time again. When producers default white skin as the standard in their movies, millions of consumers end up swallowing this damaging view of what Indians, particularly women, look like. Not only do foreigners see this as a representation of Indian women, but Indian women themselves internalize that white standard. So when young girls say they want to be like Katrina Kaif, they want the long locks, beautiful light eyes, slim body, and subconsciously…the white face.
White skin has been pervasive and subliminal in nature with the inflation of light-skinned actresses in film. However, it also manifests itself quite obviously. Exhibit A is a song/music video from the Bollywood movie “Roy” called “Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan” (literal translation: White Wrists). Below are some of the lyrics from the chorus:
Mann jaa ve…mainu shopping kara de
Please agree…take me shopping
Mann jaa ve… romantic picture dikha de
Please agree…show me a romantic movie
Requestaan paayiaan ve..
I request you…
Chittiyaan kalaiyaan ve
White wrists
Oh baby meri chittiyan kalaiyan ve
Oh baby I have fair-complexioned wrists
Chittiyaan kalaiyaan ve
White wrists
So do the lyricists believe that white skin is a woman’s ticket to having a man “wrapped around her finger” so he can finance her material gain? By the logic of the lyrics, a man (particularly, an Indian man) would not be interested in spending his money on a woman unless she showed off her “white wrists.” So here we must realize that not only do men aspire to espouse a light-skinned woman, females can also perpetuate colorism by capitalizing on their own light skin privilege.
Of course the lead in the video, Jacqueline Fernandez (tracing her multi-ethnic roots to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Canada, India, and Bahrain) to be light-skinned for the music video to bring its lyrics to life. However, Fernandez has what seems to be white backup dancers as well.
I would have expected other light-skin Indian women as props in a Bollywood music video, but clearly, actual white people would get the message across more directly. Not only should you have light skin to be desired and warrant the “male gaze,” you should surround yourself with white women to show you are as far away from the “typical” Indian female image as possible (as if Bollywood has not done that already for its industry by casting Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, and Priyanka Chopra in nearly every film out there.)
What about that confederate flag guitar in the music video’s introduction, though?
Did this slip through every crew member’s hands when filming on set? Arguably, we might not expect Indian filmmakers to be well-versed in every aspect of United States history. However, that a white supremacist symbol landed in a music video celebrating white skin is nothing short of appalling and almost eerily coincidental.
Perhaps we ought to excuse these actresses for participating in discriminatory media. We may argue that years of colonialism bred internalized racism and, therefore, Eurocentric beauty standards. After all, colorism has weasled its way into Southeast Asian society so pervasively, that skin-whitening creams like Fair & Lovely are openly advertised on television and insisted upon customers in drug stores.
However, is demanding diverse representation of Indian women too much to ask? I used to be proud of myself for having lighter skin than some of my colleagues and family members, but now I realize that it was all systemic and a result of consuming tainted, harmful, and inaccurate media. I am no better than an Indian woman darker than me because of difference in skin color. There is no excuse for deliberately silencing their voices and erasing their images. I demand dark-skinned women in my movies. I demand dark-skinned women in my soap operas. I demand dark-skinned women exist outside of a portrayal of the impoverished. I demand dark-skinned visiblity and celebration.
Edit: This post has been corrected to correctly identify the actress as Jacqueline Fernandez.
