Bipasha Basu took to 'Instagram' to remember her journey as a 'dusky' Bollywood actor and a model. The actor recalled how her dusky skin colour had always been the topic of discussion right from her modelling days to her acting days. Bipasha's post comes after 'Hindustan Unilever' announced that they will be dropping the word 'fair' from their product Fair and Lovely. The actor said that it is a mammoth step and other MNCs should follow suit.
Bipasha wrote a lengthy note, in which she said, "There was a strong mindset of beauty and how an actor should look and behave. I was different, as it was pointed out, but I did not really stop me from being and doing all that I loved. Well you see I was confident and proud of who I was from childhood. My skin colour did not define me even though I love it and would not want it to be any different ever."
Towards the end, the actor added, "Many skin care endorsements with loads of money were offered to me in the last 18 years, but I stuck to my principle always. All this needs to stop. This wrong dream that we are selling that only fair is lovely and beautiful when the majority of the country is brown skinned. It is a deep rooted stigma. It is a mammoth step from the brand and other brands should follow in the same footsteps soon."
Filmmaker Nandita Das, who had been championing the cause, also revealed that it indeed was symbolic even though the brand will continue to sell the skin whitening product under another name.
'Manto' director said, "Even though the announcement is more symbolic (after all they have not discontinued the product, just changed the messaging), it is still a big step forward. Many brands spend hundreds of crores of rupees to spread the absurd message of fair being lovely in a largely dark country. So, when a market leader steps in, at the very least, it will certainly lead to an even wider debate." Amid all this, Abhay Deol called out Bollywood actors for endorsing fairness brands over the years.