Mumbai: While advocating the need for addressing racism in our country, well-known fashion designer Masaba Gupta stated that Bollywood, fashion and beauty industries are promoting racism in India.
Masaba said one needs to be fair-skinned to get a chance in these industries. “Unfortunately, the beauty, fashion and Bollywood industries are to blame. How many times do you hear that you have to be fair-skinned to land a certain role or an advertisement? It is easier for us to speak because it is not happening in our backyard. I had a really tough time in school. I grew up thinking I was inferior to white-skinned people. And as a child if you are conditioned like this, it becomes a part of your upbringing that you believe that probably because I look like this, I won’t get anywhere in life,” said Masaba sharing her childhood experience.
As per a report in iDiva, Masaba believes that Bollywood actors and cricketers are considered to be the real heroes in India. People follow these celebrities and believe in whatever they say while endorsing various beauty products.
“I believe we are a country where we think something is going to change when a Bollywood star or a cricketer comes out and says, ‘You don’t have to be fair skinned to be successful’. We don’t have any other heroes in our country. I am a designer and nobody is going to give a damn about me. I am talking about actors who are veterans and if they come out and speak about it, then things might change,” said Masaba, as quoted in iDiva.
Masaba also feels that we need to ensure equality in our country first, before taking a stand against racism in other countries like the US.
“Can we first take care of our ‘brown lives matter’ in India and then worry about the US? I find it bizarre that racism that is done so far away from home is creating such an uproar in our own country. Look at the kind of racism faced by the dark-skinned people in our country,” she said.
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