Bollywood is a cash-chasing and hypocritical industry, with a few outliers here and there. While some might argue that the entire industry is not comprised of hypocrites, I’d argue that a few isolated outliers do not discount the fact that at the end of the day, Bollywood actors are all running after money, even if it clouds their supposed ideologies and belief systems.
The uproar in the United States over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police official has pushed major cities of the country into curfew, following violent agitators going on a rampage, looting and destroying public and private property. Since the outburst of emotions, as it is being called, is so strong, actors back here could not help but vent out their own opinions on the subject of racism.
While Bollywood stars speaking out against racism is indeed a welcome development, what cannot be ignored is their sheer hypocrisy, and even covert support towards both racism, as well as colourism. The following Twitter thread has exposed some prominent members of Bollywood on one hand condemning the racism prevalent in the United States, while completely forgetting about their fascination with a “white skin tone”.
List of Indian actors who are speaking on BLM and their fairness cream ads, a thread : pic.twitter.com/yUeRNLch6U
— anti pigeon (@aluminiummaiden) May 31, 2020
Beginning with Priyanka Chopra, who is now in the United States after her marriage with Nick Jonas. Chopra has been a hypocrite for a large part of her professional life, and while she called upon everyone to end the race war both in the US, as well as around the world, she perhaps forgot about her endorsing a Garnier facial cream which allegedly helps in dark spot reduction for a “flawless glow” and ‘fairness’.
— anti pigeon (@aluminiummaiden) May 31, 2020
Let us then have a look about what the over-opinionated Sonam Kapoor has to say. Sonam, in an Instagram story, posted, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Sure. But what explains Sonam Kapoor, the idealist, campaigning (after being paid) for a L’oreal facial cream which aims at “Flawless, Spotless and Pearl perfect fairness”, no less?
— anti pigeon (@aluminiummaiden) May 31, 2020
Disha Patani said that “all colours are perfect”. However, where was her conscience while she accepted flamboyant payments for a Pond’s BB+ cream, which claims to provide “spot-less fairness”?
This is very vague but let's count it pic.twitter.com/qCRWKsORMw
— anti pigeon (@aluminiummaiden) May 31, 2020
Although Deepika Padukone was rather metaphorical in her calling out of racism, she is the same person who helped advertise a Garnier “Fair Miracle” fairness cream.
It is rather hilarious to see Bollywood stars thinking they can have it both ways. How, pray tell, can one claim to stand in solidarity of those who face discrimination due to their skin colour, while brazenly putting up their own faces for advertising fairness creams? What dichotomous sorcery is this? On one hand these Bollywood stars make fortunes out of campaigning for facial creams which look to make everyone unnaturally white, while the same hypocrites then take the moral high stand to preach wisdom upon lesser mortals.
While there are other stars, like Yami Gautam, Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, etc, who are also connected with fairness advertisements, yet, they have not taken to the internet as holier-than-thous and claimed to stand against racism, as yet.
Fairness creams have always been a menace. They have ingrained among people the idea that being dark-skinned is somehow a taboo, and that it must be dealt with immediately, using facial remedies. This blatant form of stereotyping, coincidentally, has been given a miss by our Bollywood messiahs, perhaps for the money which such advertisements bring along with them. Therefore, on one hand these hypocrites fill their pockets by mass-stereotyping a section of people, while also conveniently pretending to stand up against racism and colour-based discrimination.
