Actor Nandita Das once again took to the stage to talk about the impact of society’s obsession with fair skin, saying that fairness had come to be associated with positive attributes automatically, at the Radiant Wellness Conclave-2015 in Chennai.

“A film-maker once asked me if I can lighten my skin tone because I was playing an educated, middle-class character. So only a village simpleton looks dark?” she asked.

“The problem with fairness products is that they basically exploit the prejudices existing in society and reinforce them,” she said.

Set standards

In conversation with dermatologist Renita Rajan and actor Mohan Raman on ‘Breaking Beauty Stereotypes,’ Ms. Das said that the women on the billboards around India had set beauty standards that were difficult to follow.

She was speaking after a presentation on beauty by Dr. Rajan, who suggested that every individual, instead of feeling bad about their appearances, could play up a specific aspect about themselves.

“All women we see on billboards are fair, thin and photo-shopped. We have to ask ourselves this: should appearance be the only thing that should make us beautiful?” she asked. Ms. Das acknowledged that society might value different ideas of beauty, but wondered if beauty should be given so much importance in daily lives.

“I do not remember my father ever telling me that I looked nice or that I should not wear a specific colour because it would not suit me. I grew up without having a conversation about beauty, which I think helped me to a great extent when I grew up,” she said.

The actor urged people, especially young Indians, to think about defining themselves through their appearance. “Do not define yourself by the way you look. If you do, people around you will also do the same. We must not take given attributes so seriously because we cannot do anything about our skin colour or nationality. One should not take these things seriously beyond a point,” she said.