Actor-director Nandita Das says there is a need to put the 'unity in diversity' line to practice but such is the level of discrimination that fair is considered lovely in a country where 90 per cent of the population has dark skin.
Das says she was fortunate that her parents did not put any complex about her skin colour but she encountered such biases in the film industry.
"Everybody faces that discrimination, everyone who is dark has, especially in this industry. Like if I do the role of a slum dweller, a rural character, a Malayalai or Bengali film, then it is fine. But the minute you do the role of affluent, educated women they would say, you need to lighten your skin," Das told PTI.
"We don't need to be defining ourselves with the colour of our skin, there is lot more to all of us and we need to explore that."
"India does have a lot of shades and we are not celebrating it. We have been hearing 'there is unity in diversity' but we are not practising it. There is so much diversity in terms of religion, skin colour, languages, sexual preference, we are always creating a sense of them and us. I think it is time we celebrate our diversity."
"It is a campaign started in 2013 by a Chennai based organisation called 'Women of Worth'. There are so many issues women are fighting, I did not think (the issue of) skin colour needs stand alone attention. (But) so many people lose their confidence, their self-esteem because of skin colour."
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