Abhay Deol’s battle with racism is far from over. The actor went all swords against the companies which sell fairness creams. Abhay called out these companies in his Facebook posts and now has written a comprehensive column about his problem with the idea of fairness. Abhay Deol wrote that this obsession with fairness is something that the East India Company left behind.
Talking about the Indian obsession with fair skin, Abhay wrote in his column for Hindustan Times that he got a lot of attention for being fair. However, the actor said that this changed when he went abroad for studies. He said the only time he was singled out for his color was when people found him attractive because of his skin hue.
Slamming everyone who promoted fair skin, Abhay said this has left little window to talk about the real issues like caste, religion, corruption, poverty, and malnutrition?
Abhay Deol then went ahead and wrote about the hypocrisy of trying to make Indian people fair. “Corporate giants are only doing what they have been doing for centuries, i.e. exploiting our weaknesses. The English East India Company, arguably the first corporate giant in the world, was an ‘Indian’ company. I wish that part of history were given more attention in our textbooks today. We were the original guinea pigs, and today, ironically, we are voluntarily following in the footsteps of the imperial powers,” Abhay added.
The Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara actor also slammed journalists for asking him questions about Bollywood celebs endorsing fairness creams. He said it was a two-way street and that media houses should not run advertisements that gave half baked truth.
“How does a newspaper that has to print the truth take money from a sponsor who sells the public a half-truth? News channels should be asked the same thing. Stop asking actors why they continue to endorse such brands, because you continue to advertise them!,” Abhay went on.
Abhay added that is was impossible that a country as diverse as India would have one notion of beauty. He said it was this thought which led to many calling natives of North-east chinkies. He said that rather than playing on the strengths of the nation, the companies are tapping on other things. “They could sell a yogi healthy skin as opposed to white skin. Imagine the tag line, ‘Let us add a softness to your natural yogic glow’, or ‘The mountains may or may not give you enlightenment, but they will definitely give you dry skin’. Deepika Padukone would look fab sitting in a meditative posture on the top of a mountain. I’d buy that cream and aspire to be like her as well!,” wrote the star.
Well, Abhay once again made sense.
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