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Indians want to be White:Freida Pinto
Here is an excerpt from her Interview in Popular british newspaper Independent where she talks about India's Fair Skin Obsession and struggles faced by dark skinned women in indian modeling industry/bollywood: At college in her mid-teens, Pinto had realised that theatre and literature were her "calling". To earn some money, she began modelling. The well-mannered, inquisitive youngster found it easy working with photographers, but it was far from satisfying. Nor was the advertising work which followed. "There were some very silly, stupid auditions that I had to go for. Like, there's this girl who walks into college and nobody's paying any attention to her because she is not using this particular cream – some kind of moisturiser or fairness cream, which I'm completely against. Then she'd put on the cream and all the boys would turn to her. And, I was like, 'Arrgh, this is so bloody cheesy!' If I ever got shortlisted for any of those parts I'd feel this sudden burden: 'Oh my God, if I do this, they'll pay me and I'll earn my pocket money – but then it's gonna be history.' Some of my ads are now on YouTube and it's just so embarrassing." Embarrassing, yes, but she can laugh about them. "There is a silly Wrigley chewing-gum ad you should check out. It's so stupid. This guy pops a gum in his mouth and I fall from a tree on to his bike! Then he's got a girl!" Pinto cracks up with laughter at the memory. "So from doing cheesy stuff like that to doing something as fulfilling as Miral – I think I've come a long way." She has, but Pinto can't, and won't, forget where she has come from. She despairs at the popularity of those "fairness creams" in Southeast Asia – bleaching potions to lighten the skin. "It's completely wrong medically – and culturally, of course, because it's giving people the wrong idea. My friend who's a doctor told me that she'd have parents come in with kids who were three years old, saying, 'Do something – I want my baby to be fair.' "It's just this thing that people [in India] are so fascinated by white skin. There's a lot of people there who are naturally really pale. But the whole idea that you have to be fair – without naming actors, but there are actors who admit it – the fairer you are, the easier it is." Even within Bollywood? "Oh yeah, absolutely. The amount of pancake cream on your face is ridiculous. I don't think it is required, by the way. If a cream can give you confidence then you really have to check your whole confidence department in the first place." But Pinto herself is a bright beacon for Indian actors. Slumdog Millionaire showed that European and American audiences could be receptive to non-Western stories. And with her nonstop career since, this proudly Indian actress has succeeded in Hollywood without having to compromise by changing her looks or the way she speaks. "Yeah," she nods, "but it's so funny. I feel like this whole idea of wanting something that you don't really have is also very American in a way. They love tanning! Why the hell are you tanning that much? Then in my country people want a fairer skin tone! It's just crazy. "So when I was that Indian export that went to America and people were wanting that natural tan – which I don't really have to go through tanning [to acquire] – they were excited to include something in their culture, into their film industry, that was not really there already. Or not properly or appropriately represented. So I just feel that this was a change. Check out this fairness cream advert PS: To read her full interview check out the link below
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Tue, 2011-08-02 20:41 — Anonymous
the reason of this problem in our society is because since ages, black, or darkness is considered evil, and white/brightness is symbol of truth/light. Black is the color of night, in ancient vedas, all asurs(monsters) /demons were dark in color. People somehow still have that mentality and associate a dark colored person as bad/evil compared to a light colored person
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And Wht did anyone do to make it better???people still have that mentality,finding out the cause is step 1 aand palnning to make it better is step 2.I hope we see step 2.
Please stop sayng things like Freida is celebrated in the 'west', that the so called 'westerner' folk love her. Taht not ture at all. Freida just played 10 min roles in Hollywood movies. She isn't a household name nor is a popular celebrity.
In US, we love people like Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Megan Fox,etc,.
Freida is just a talentless girl over all and is not considered pretty like them. Sorry but thats the truth. Most americans don't really know who Freida is.
Freida herself tries so hard to fake an brit accent. Who the the real indian who is a white wannabe?
She has no talent and is already fading. It nice to see her one man band fan wiritng sooooo many comments. We know who you are. You must have a ton of time on your hans to talk good about this no talent C lister.
to the person berating her that she's a white person's kept person or something.. dude, in this case, why would she be so ga-ga over a non-white Indian-origin dude like Dev???? she obvisouly has a chance of dating the Hollywood crowd- many have complimented her... but she still has let it out that she is NOT single.. and definitely a pair with Dev. At the start of her career.. that's a very nice thing to do! Hope Dev appreciates that...
check it out guys.. if you are in south jersey, catch Dev and Freida cozying up by Cooper River park, right at the edge of their family's indian restaurant.. palace of asia.. . there are tons of cute 'Hollywood type' guys swimming, canoeing and jogging at this river (this is a posh place full of 'good catches' types.. legendary actress Grace Kelly and their family used to swim in this river.. ).. but Frieda looks at Dev and Dev only. this is their 'secret hideout'.. but not anymore ;)
denial mode...most desis who never suffered taunts of color while growing up will not care or understand to care why this issue is so wrong. that's the thing of racism.. unless it happens, ppl shove it away as a 'fashion issue'. that's why those who have empathy are so wonderful. regardless of our color or gender, we ALL need to step in together to combat this.. but the status quo is yawning still (as they are still not the darkest of the Indian lot %-wise;; it's still the labor lot).
Mon, 2011-08-01 12:07 — Anonymous
agree she is a white man's pet
Are you kidding me? Don't you remember when the French were parading Aishwarya around in Cannes with Laetitia Costa? They have nothing to do with each other except that they have the same coloring. It's like the French were saying "Hey look what we found, an Indian who looks almost like us", and you think that's just awesome. More than once I've heard french interviewers commentating how she had the same color eyes as them, like it was such a big freaking compliment. Aishwarya is the one kissing up to the white man. I mean come on, she even reduces herself to wearing contacts all the time because that's her only claim to fame. Pathetic.
Frieda on the other hands is celebrated for being beautiful and sophisticated, period.
she said in my country.. so sweet.
India has the potential to change fast.. the new gens are taking to color equality much more seriously. It starts early to teach proper values. it's fab fab fab to see dusky and fair and white, black, and yellow people are being equals in this world. beause ultimately, it's not if your color... it's what's inside that counts. the biggest concern is for the labor class (most of whom are dark and lovely)-- especially children who work in child labor.. who don't believe in themselves. every person is so valuable and precious.. and once India recognizes this, it will be among the superstars of the world..
it's awesome when dusky people transcend society and believe in themselves. go Frieda !
this is laughble to read the post still mocking Frieda.. she didn't let a lotion or a melanin-count or judgement negating her stop her from anything.. she has confidence. keep mocking it.. but if someone has inner-confidence, no mocks will stop them from believing in themselves. This is what Frieda is talking about.. true confidence vs shallow confidence.
guys... here is the thing about the ad, which is so so wrong:
In the 'before-dusky' phase, she is makeup-less, dressed in plain ill-fitting outfit, has her hair tied matronly, and has no confidence whatsoever.. head hanging low. she looks miserable!
In the 'after-fair' phase, she is wearing nice makeup, smiling, hair down and styled, dressed smartly.. and morever, walking with CONFIDENCE snd SELF-ASSURANCE and happiness.
IF she had the same confidence and grooming in her dusky look, she would as equally attractive (perhaps more-- as dusky brings out sharper features). It's clearly NOT the fairer color making her look better in the 'after'. It's so so wrong of this ad to make it seem so... and Frieda is absolutely right.. a lotion should not give the confidence !! The confidence should come from within. It's sad.. because a lot of times even the metros.. a lot of exceptionally attractive yet dusky females lack this confidence exactly this same way.. while their lesser attractive yet fairer counterparts exceed in their social, romance and career world simply because of confidence!! and yes, this confidence is often imbued since they are kids.. so don't blame the victims, please!
To the people who think this is just a fashion norm and a non-issue... realize that innocent kids are shattered of their self-worth from the start based on this horrible discrimination. We all know worldwide that people of color can be presidents (Mr. Obama), richest female in the nation (Ms. Winfrey), and super gorgeous (Halle Barry). And yet, we shove our own aside. That's bad enough.. but the fact that kids are JUDGED unfairly in unforgivable! it's high time, racism become something we all step in to conquer:
real story that happens all over on a daily basis (at least in the minds of people thinking it.. many times out loud) of two kids who look very similar (siblings)-- yet only their shade factor differs:
innocent child smiles (higher melanin count) in front of a group of adults--> tsk tsk, kithni kali hai. kaisi shaddi karagi (tsk tsk, how dark she is.. how will she ever marry ??).
innocent child smiles (lower melanin count) in front of a group of adults--> kithni gori hai... waahh ! bahuth achcha ghar sai saddhi karagi (( how fair she is. she will be marrying big).
the reason of this problem in our society is because since ages, black, or darkness is considered evil, and white/brightness is symbol of truth/light. Black is the color of night, in ancient vedas, all asurs(monsters) /demons were dark in color. People somehow still have that mentality and associate a dark colored person as bad/evil compared to a light colored person
Oh my god. What a horrible ad. My mom's side of the family is from the more rural areas in India where the customs are not as modern as other places in India. Marriages are arranged and if the girl is "too dark" then it is very hard to arrange a marriage for her. I don't get why fairness is looked as beauty when darker girls are equally beautiful. I like that Frieda is trying to bring this out in the open. Other Bollywood actresses say that they will never endorse fairness creams and such but what ends up happening? They endorse fairness creams. I like that Frieda is not a hypocrite like this and hopefully she will not ever endorse fairness creams in the future for money.
how true it is.
hmmmmmmmm... ppl who associate tanning in the West to being fair in the East as the same: get this. there is NO discrimination of pale ppl who are kids in the West.. no matromonial ads that no pale ppl need apply; nor are there messages and actual discrimination of pale as inferior. tanning is a beauty thing like getting highlights-- and yes, a lot of people who sport tans would never date someone of color either.
but being fair or getting fair here in the East is anoher story. it's defintely racially driven. please don't compare apples with oranges, to let a very wrong thing in society keep going. there are devestated people who feel like sub-humans simply on their melanin count.. here is Ms. Pinto trying to bring this out in the open-- yet ppl want to shove this under the rug .. because they are happy with the status quo so long as they don't get affected.
sorry, but it does not matter if you are white or black or red or grey.. racism should be everyone's concern. it's really sad to read the posts trying to shove this issue away...
Its been three days and Im still laughing at the stupidity of this ad
No heroine in Bollywood is very dark. Dark would be your stereotypical African. Freida is not dark...as i said before - The girl in that ad is not even dark. It annoys me when light-skinned, yet wheatish people like the girl in the ad are considered dark. Some actresses that are naturally that same skin colour like Konkona Sen, Kajol, Sushmita Sen, should NOT be considered dark. Furthermore, Kangana is not naturally FAIR she is only PALE. Pale as in she never gets out in the sun...her skin colour would be/is pretty much the same as the girl in this ad.
Also, Priyanka chopra is not dark..she is a beautiful TANNED wheatish colour. Bipasha and Deepika are both only a peachy medium brown - they are not dark. Freida is the same colour of these women. Dark would be your stereotypical African, which is NOT a bad thing in terms of beauty.
Freida herself uses tonnes of makeup and talks ill of Indians. What a hypocrite
"Bald and short guys can be hot"
Yea, right!!! I am 5'7" Indian male, neither too fair nor dark, have numerous personal interests and accomplishments, volunteer my personal time for social causes, have two graduate degrees, played a key role in designing two devices which people all around the world love to use. I am 33 years old. And single because women, Indian women, rejected me for being short and balding, from the time I was 23 through age 32. That's 10 years of rejections for being short and bald.
Note that 5'7" is without the 2 inches which people add online. And balding implies losing hair on the temples and crown, and not exactly bald.
I shaved off everything and gave up on dating or matrimony last year because you can only take so much rejection in a short life before your head begins to hurt even imagining another attempt.
So yea, superficial Indian men want fair women, and superficial Indian women want non-bald tall men. Good luck to all of you!
this ad is so shocking, can't believe they make such ads in india and are allowed to put it on tv
agreed, Indians want to be white, but white ppl are racists as well. I live in the US. Most pale people do wish to get a tan, but I have rarely seen a white guy going around with a colored girl. They date mostly blonde white girls only. Although some white girls have black boyfriends (probably because of money), but I have NEVER SEEN a white guy with a black girlfriend/wife
Mon, 2011-08-01 13:03 — Anonymous
Totally agree with you.that was my point also.in West tanning is not a social problem.While in India it is a huge social problem.
All skin colors are equally beautiful.It is what makes our world beautiful.
To flower.. are you an nri or lived in India where matromonials are run?
if you live aboard, you can certainly relate to people who will only date one race, can't you? they will refuse to date a beautiful Halle Barry type woman of color (and ackowledge she's prettier) and pick the plainest of their own race.
can't agree with you that this is just a 'definition of beauty'. granted, being fair is considered a beauty factor.. but more than this, it's a passport. it is much more than just being pretty. it is racially driven. case in point that happens in the metros all the time: a very beautiful symmetrical dark supermodel type and plain-jane uneven-featured yet very fair gal. while everyone will acknowedge that the former is very pretty and dusky and the latter is plain, most of them will STILL choose to match-make the plain-jane fair one for a bride. not just that, the plain-jane one will be seen as superior in intelligence, socially, etc .
so it's much much more than just being pretty... it's being as caucasion as possible for an Indian female equals her superiority.
people really need to understand that being dark in India is almost considered a crime for a female while being fair is considered a favor to society. a dark female child must correct her mistake (or make up for it by being smarter, more talented, etc.), while a fair female is prized and just can be herself. it is 'hidden' under polite social norms-- but then so is subtle racisim. what does this mean? that a female must be as caucasion as possible to rise up in society. yes, it is racial and gender biased too (for males, being dark is a minus, but not as devastasting as to females).
while some commentators are regarding being fair as a definition of beauty-- ie. equating it with being fat or bald-- please realize that no matrimonials ads list the hair volume or even thin or fat as a barring factor. yet, for every female, her melanin count does equate her worth to many many in society in ways that would shock you ((( ie. in adoption centers, foreigners have reported that fairer female children were overfed and plump, while the darker were neglected. this is actually from someone who adopted both a fair and dark child in India-- and the darker neglected one ended up being a model and as happy as the fair one)).
so it is much beyond a 'definition' of beauty. it is far far more devastiing than this. the melanin count of a female is still considered a passport of sorts: the lesser melanin means more caucasion means more opportunites ((jobs, marriages, and sadly even friendship !!! )).
To the anon who asked me "since when is aish considered dusky"...I just assumed kareena, karishma those girls are quite fair skinned...so to me, aish is not fair...which is completely OK...because no one said she has to be. I dont pay close attention to every shade etc...so I could be off what the general population thinks about dark and fair etc.
my point wasn't to call her dark...my point was just to say bollywood has progressed in terms of colour representation...but as someone else pointed out...they still have far to go...
I think that ppl should just stop having requirements and standard definitions of beauty all over the world...period.
Bald and short guys can be hot
Being chubby should be ok and not considered ugly
small boobs should be considered just as hot
etc
but this world is not like that. The problem isnt just the "fair skin is beautiful" mentality held by some indians...it's the fact that beauty is defined by something in the first place...and that's a problem...for the entire world-because it makes a whole chunk of the population feel like their not good enough.
It's pretty evident in Pinkvilla...whenever someone looks at someone's picture and blurts out how fat that person is...that's offensive too no?
I'm not saying dont appreciate someone's beauty...but lets not degradingly insult someone who happens to be short, or dark, or fat, or has small or too big boobs etc...that way we can start solving some of the problems the world has about beauty...
@radsuin
Thank you.
You have got everyone thinking and talking about something very important.
I am so glad there is a spirited discussion going on here about this important issue.
Please read Freida's interview carefully. Nowhere do I get the feeling she's insulting India. It's just Indians with an inferiority complex who are interpreting it that way.
Abhay, Freida and Ranbir are the enlightened socially aware Indian stars ....Mad props to them.
She is right, but she should STOP WORKING FOR L'OREAL as they make fairness creams too!