The Inferiority-Complex of India & Bollywood

[Sudas Paijavana]

*I would like to share what is on my mind:

Greetings,

Let's be honest. There is something inherently wrong with the current Indian psyche, especially when it comes to Bollywood. From skin lightening creams (I'm not kidding one bit) all the way to hiring non-Indian females to represent Indian females. I have seen my fare share of appropriation, but the appropriation done by Bollywood takes the cake.

Let's put aside the hiring of non-Indian females to represent Indian females for now, because I'll come back to that very shortly.

First of all, what is up with hiring only very fair skinned actors and actresses? Is this in order to cater to an international market (appeasing Western paradigms and standards of beauty)? Is this because of the "lasting legacy" of the British "Raj"? Does hiring very light skinned actors and actresses assist Indian cinema in representing the "real" India and Her people?

Dear racist, mainstream Bollywood, what's so wrong with medium brown to very dark brown skin? Heck, what's wrong with the very dashing Denzel Washington's skin? And, for the love of cinema geeks and nerds, please bring back my dark skinned hero: Nana Patekar!!!! More importantly, the best beauties are found in the South! A quick trip to Tulu land should prove this true. Trust me. I know. Not even Gujarat nor Punjab can compete with the natural beauty of the people of South India (oh, and I'm Western/"North" Indian, BTW - and I'm pretty "fair skinned", whatever the hell that means...).

...and, that...brings me to the main point:

When you hire non-Indian (non-Desi) women to literally represent Indian females, who in the world are you trying to fool?

Need I remind everyone here that India has a population of 1,237,180,000? BTW, that's 17.4% of the world's human population...17.4%!!!!

From a population of 1 billion plus, how hard can it be to find native actors and actresses that can represent India's population in an original and honest manner?

I don't know about all of you here on HDF, but whenever Bollywood does this, it makes all of India look bad: "Indians can't find their own beautiful women and men to represent themselves so their movie producers hire foreign women and light skinned male actors." <---is probably the sentiment

How messed up is that, right?

Dark skin was all the rage back in Classical India. Don't believe me? Check out the following:




Instead of the most beautiful woman on the planet (which would be Nandita Das), Bollywood goes after:

1. Yana Gupta (fine, fine...I admit, that one song was pretty dope...)
2. Elli Avram
3. Katrina Kaif (<--- she's not even Indian, bet you didn't know that, did you?)
4. Maryam Zakaria
5. Bruna Abdullah

...those are just a few that come to mind right off the bat...

Bollywood has a problem. It's infected with the same mindset that's a part of the racial supremacists at Stormfront.

[Viraja]

This is a correct observation. This trend doesn't stop at Bollywood, it permeates into 'Kollywood' - Tamil Kodambakkam cinema too. Just take a look at how many actresses are from Bombay, because Bombay-ites tend to be fairer! It not only shows how fixated Indians are with skin color but also the troubling trend of movie heroines being just dummies with no real acting skills, whose predominant qualification is just to be 'fair'! How many movie-makers will be ready to come forward to make a near-50 female star into the heroine of a movie, such as Sandra Bullock starred in 'Gravity'!!

[isavasya]

Dear Sudas ji,

I exactly don't know anybody in your list except Nandita das and Katrine kaif as its been years that I have not seen a Bollywood movie. However I support your point. In the west,the Hollywood has increasingly accepted dark laitn beauties like Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba and Eva Longira etc etc. The two most famous Indian origin celebs popular in west are Padma Lakshi and Freida Pinto, both of whom are pretty dark. While I personally like fair coloured and dark coloured woman equally, I do however feel that we tend to look down upon dark complexioned people.

[Sudas Paijavana]

Greetings,

This is a correct observation. This trend doesn't stop at Bollywood, it permeates into 'Kollywood' - Tamil Kodambakkam cinema too. Just take a look at how many actresses are from Bombay, because Bombay-ites tend to be fairer! It not only shows how fixated Indians are with skin color but also the troubling trend of movie heroines being just dummies with no real acting skills, whose predominant qualification is just to be 'fair'! How many movie-makers will be ready to come forward to make a near-50 female star into the heroine of a movie, such as Sandra Bullock starred in 'Gravity'!!

Yikes! I never knew that it affects the Southern cinemas as well. BTW, I recently saw Thalaivaa (2013) and I found it pretty awesome. I also liked Dasavathaaram.

But, I think there is way too much of a fixation on skin color by Indians - to the point of insanity.

And, speaking of the glorious Sandra Bullock - what a wonderful actress! I haven't seen Gravity yet, but I'll watch it in the future. But yes, you are right: not a lot (not any that I know) of Bollywood movie makers will come forward to make a near-50 female star (BTW, Bullock looks like she's 32) into the main heroine.

...I do however feel that we tend to look down upon dark complexioned people.

And, that's my point. There is no need for Indians to look down upon people with darker shades, especially not their own countrymen and countrywomen. It's completely and utterly ironic.

Whenever Bollywood does this, it insults not only itself but also the Indian people in a heartless manner. I really don't understand it one bit. Do you remember when they had Preity Zinta play a Malayali woman in Dil Se? That's the absurdity that I am referring to (and what Viraja is hinting at). It just comes off as odd and desperate. Furthermore, it lacks originality. And, if Bollywood is trying to represent Indian cinema and the Indian people, it's pretty much failing miserably. Last time I checked, there are not 1 billion Kapoors, Khans*, Singhs, and Aroras and Khannas.

*I'll exclude Mr. Aamir Khan because he's a genuine actor that has wonderful skill and is quite involved with the Indian society, addressing taboos, societal controversies, etc., basically giving-back-to-the-community-type-of-fellow.

[Avyaydya]

Let's be honest. There is something inherently wrong with the current Indian psyche, especially when it comes to Bollywood.

No I do not think this has much to do with Indian psyche or racism, we see these kind of things worldwide. I think the issue is more fundamental than color of the skin. As we become more materialistic the appearance becomes more important. The superficial qualities starts to dominate inner qualities. So when we today speak of the most beautiful women of the world this is measured in outer qualities. Today we live much more in the rationalizing mind than that we develop our subtle senses. The result is that our attention shifts to the most superficial sense, which is the eyes. The eyes only see the surface.

In the media beauty is only skin deep. Beauty however is a quality that pervades beings. Indeed inner beauty radiates to the outside. That is why we like to see beautiful people, because it is some measure for what is inside. We feel attracted to that. The nature of women is to want to be attractive, so women go to some length to change their appearance. They use makeup to smooth their skin and make their eyes seem bigger. Nowadays they do plastic surgery to create a smaller nose, rounder eyes, and bigger lips and breast, etc. This a worldwide phenomenon. Even the most heralded beauties are actively polishing their look. And even then it is not enough. Their photos are still photoshopped as a final touch to create smaller waistlines etc. So what the people get presented in magazines and movies is not women, but an idealized form of a woman.

Modern thinking was based on idealizing perfect forms. The perfect shape of rectangles, circles, triangles, etc. Shapes that do not exist in nature in this perfect form, only in the mind of man. That is why they were considered Divine by the Greek. Man started to recreate his environment in these perfect forms, and now he is changing himself to meet these ideal forms. In the near future people will recreate their bodies even more. They will grow new flesh and bones or choose artificial bodies that have what they consider perfect forms.

Why may women prefer a whiter faces today? Maybe their perception is influenced by Western style fashion magazines and movies. And so women want to see the same thing in actresses. It is not a conspiracy, but rather what women themselves perceive as more beautiful. It will change as more colored women come into the picture and at some point fashion will change. In the future any color will become the fashion, nice green skin, or light blue, whatever. We see women already experimenting with such ideas.

The preference of white faces may also be partly based on status and class as rich women could stay indoors and have paler faces then women working on the land. Making faces white is very old custom in many cultures dating back thousands of years. See A History of Cosmetics from Ancient Times. In the past women in the European courts would white powder their faces. Today white women are more busy giving their faces color. Color is now perceived as status as it means you can afford a sunny vacation.

We can lament women whitening their skin but it is mostly something they do to themselves in pursuit of being found attractive. You could not stop them if you wanted to. see here

[Sudas Paijavana]

No I do not think this has much to do with Indian psyche or racism, we see these kind of things worldwide. I think the issue is more fundamental than color of the skin. As we become more materialistic the appearance becomes more important. The superficial qualities starts to dominate inner qualities. So when we today speak of the most beautiful women of the world this is measured in outer qualities. Today we live much more in the rationalizing mind than that we develop our subtle senses. The result is that our attention shifts to the most superficial sense, which is the eyes. The eyes only see the surface.

In the media beauty is only skin deep. Beauty however is a quality that pervades beings. Indeed inner beauty radiates to the outside. That is why we like to see beautiful people, because it is some measure for what is inside. We feel attracted to that. The nature of women is to want to be attractive, so women go to some length to change their appearance. They use makeup to smooth their skin and make their eyes seem bigger. Nowadays they do plastic surgery to create a smaller nose, rounder eyes, and bigger lips and breast, etc. This a worldwide phenomenon. Even the most heralded beauties are actively polishing their look. And even then it is not enough. Their photos are still photoshopped as a final touch to create smaller waistlines etc. So what the people get presented in magazines and movies is not women, but an idealized form of a woman.

Modern thinking was based on idealizing perfect forms. The perfect shape of rectangles, circles, triangles, etc. Shapes that do not exist in nature in this perfect form, only in the mind of man. That is why they were considered Divine by the Greek. Man started to recreate his environment in these perfect forms, and now he is changing himself to meet these ideal forms. In the near future people will recreate their bodies even more. They will grow new flesh and bones or choose artificial bodies that have what they consider perfect forms.

Why may women prefer a whiter faces today? Maybe their perception is influenced by Western style fashion magazines and movies. And so women want to see the same thing in actresses. It is not a conspiracy, but rather what women themselves perceive as more beautiful. It will change as more colored women come into the picture and at some point fashion will change. In the future any color will become the fashion, nice green skin, or light blue, whatever. We see women already experimenting with such ideas.

The preference of white faces may also be partly based on status and class as rich women could stay indoors and have paler faces then women working on the land. Making faces white is very old custom in many cultures dating back thousands of years. See A History of Cosmetics from Ancient Times.

We can lament women whitening their skin but it is mostly something they do to themselves in pursuit of being found attractive. You could not stop them if you wanted to. see here

Greetings,

Your whole post (which I found interesting) pretty much addresses psyche. And, I would never attempt to stop them nor do I have a desire or want for doing so. They have an inalienable right to bleach their skin. I do not contest that. This is the canteen. It's for sharing what's on one's mind. And, from the countless Bollywood movies I have seen, from the numerous Bollywood gossip and mags that I have read - Indian cinema is pretty much obsessed with fair skin. It doesn't take a degree in psychology or sociology nor anthropology to make correlations.

[Sudas Paijavana]

Greetings,

I'll expand on what I mean so as to not have readers misunderstand.

Bollywood producers and directors have an innate right to hire whomever they desire. But, it's almost borderline insanity when producers ask their actresses or actors to use skin lightening creams to bleach their skin.

I truly believe that that is psychologically orientated - so it definitely does relate to psyche.

I'm not talking about botox and facelifts and nose jobs . I'm talking about a repetitive behavior that goes largely unnoticed: the consistent hiring of actresses that are fair skinned while dark skinned females rarely make it to the screen.

Thus...is mainstream Bollywood anti-black/anti-dark-skinned? Maybe. Maybe not. I get the feeling that it is.

All that I know right now is that dark skin was once considered extremely beautiful in Classical India (just google Ellora and Ajanta Cave Paintings). But, it seems that now the orientation has changed for the worse, IMHO. You'll hardly miss a "fair" commercial while flicking through Indian tv-channels, nor miss the repeated "fair & lovely" comment on someone's Biodata. Etc. Etc. Etc..

[Avyaydya]

Greetings,

I'll expand on what I mean so as to not have readers misunderstand.

Bollywood producers and directors have an innate right to hire whomever they desire. But, it's almost borderline insanity when producers ask their actresses or actors to use skin lightening creams to bleach their skin.

I truly believe that that is psychologically orientated - so it definitely does relate to psyche.

I'm not talking about botox and facelifts and nose jobs . I'm talking about a repetitive behavior that goes largely unnoticed: the consistent hiring of actresses that are fair skinned while dark skinned females rarely make it to the screen.

Thus...is mainstream Bollywood anti-black/anti-dark-skinned? Maybe. Maybe not. I get the feeling that it is.

All that I know right now is that dark skin was once considered extremely beautiful in Classical India (just google Ellora and Ajanta Cave Paintings). But, it seems that now the orientation has changed for the worse, IMHO. You'll hardly miss a "fair" commercial while flicking through Indian tv-channels, nor miss the repeated "fair & lovely" comment on someone's Biodata. Etc. Etc. Etc..

I think the obsession with white skin is not based on anti-black. These are preferences of women themselves. When it becomes a preference of women than Bollywood simply follows, because their heroins need to be idealized. In fact the heroins are frequently the victim of women preferences. When Aishwarya Rai gained weight after pregnancy she was heavily criticized, her women fans saw it as betrayal. These icons become public possession and often tragically start using plastic surgery until they lose all natural appearances. So who is influencing whom?

Often media are accused of changing perception, but they rather reflect changing perception. Because if you bring something new that does not correspondent with peoples inner believes, it simply fails. When I talked to colored women about skin they said they preferred to have lighter skin. Why? Because they say dark skin is more irregular than lighter skin, because they have spots with less pigmentation and so, and they want to have a smooth skin. Whether this is true is an open question, but in a world where everyone is wearing make-up that is how they perceive it. White women may hold reverse views, thinking skin of colored women is naturally smoother. The lawn of the neighbors always seems greener.

For you it is a racial problem, for women it is a skin problem. And women all over the world black and white are obsessed with this. Because many of them have freckles and all kind of impurities they want to get rid ofF. They can either choose to make their face darker or lighter to cover it up. They do both.

Women also want to make their eyes look bigger. In Japan and China women do eye-correction surgery to achieve this. Is this a racial thing? Is it because they want round western eyes? No, all women want to make their eyes look bigger. Why? Because big eyes suggest the person sees something pleasant. This creates attraction in return.

But do the same people want their noses to be bigger to be more like western noses (Whites are called "big noses" in China)? No, because women all over the world like noses to be small and not pronounced. So it is not about imitating whites but about what women see as an ideal of beauty.

[Sahasranama]

I haven't seen a bollywood movie in years, because it's all garbage. Bollywood is catering largely to the Arab world as well as to Indians. It's best to vote with your wallet and to stop paying for Bollywood trash.

[Sudas Paijavana]

So it is not about imitating whites but about what women see as an ideal of beauty.

Greetings,

You took it to a whole different ball park.

And, you are generalizing by speaking on what every single female sees as an ideal of beauty, because in the end not every single female in the world is truly comfortable with the massively imported perception that the Western ideal of beauty is what matters the most - that it is what amounts to as beautiful. Furthermore, to suggest that the media doesn't persuade or motivate public opinion or perception and rather it is the media that is persuaded by the public is misdirected.

Are you familiar with the Dark Is Beautiful Campaign in India? They are pretty much stressing the same thing that I am stressing:

The preference for fairer skin color is an import that is damaging how women in India see themselves - they literally perceive lighter skin color with wealth, influence, and power. Bollywood only adds more fuel to the insecurity when they, again, literally ask their actresses to use skin lightening creams to bleach their skin. <---which goes back to my whole statement about there being something wrong with the current Indian psyche, because back in the Ancient and Classical days, dark skin was, literally, more preferred (again: just take a look at the Ellora and Ajanta Cave Paintings....you won't see any Karishma Kapoors, but you will see tons and tons of Nandita Das').

I don't know about you, but I prefer Denzel Washington any day, any how, any where, and I also prefer Charlize Theron (because the two are naturally beautiful). And, if only Indian women knew how naturally beautiful it is to be just who they are without becoming superficially plastic, then...just then...maybe they would hold posters of the gorgeous Angela Basset with pride, becoming Angela Bassets themselves, inner-wise and outer-wise. They wouldn't, then, have the need to become something else, something that they aren't - all because Bollywood always associates the heroines with lighter skin color and the antagonists with darker skin color.

Indian cinema as well as Indian society are infected by colorism. All of this ties back to the inferiority complex that I was talking about in the OP:

If Bollywood is trying to represent the Indian people, then it would be logical and reasonable to hire from the vast multitudes of differing Indian ethnicities to portray the characters they wish to portray, not have Yami Gautam play a Bengali, not have Preity Zinta play a Malayali, etc. etc. etc. Because, when Bollywood does that, it does not represent the Indian people, especially when they go more extreme than the above and resort to having non-Indian, non-Desi actors and actresses play the roles of native, ethnic Indians. This is what I am stressing (as I clearly mentioned in the OP), as well as what Dark Is Beautiful Campaign is stressing.