Promotion

It was an otherwise lazy Wednesday afternoon when a Bollywood actor decided to call out racism peddled by the fairness cream industry and in the process sent the internet into a collective tizzy.

Through a series of powerful posts on Facebook depicting print advertisements of these products, Deol boldly criticised his own peers from Bollywood for endorsing them.

From Shahrukh Khan to his own co-star Sonam Kapoor, Deol spared no one for endorsing fairness creams that end up promoting the idea that being fair is somehow superior.

WE ARE NOT A RACIST COUNTRY! I will prove it to you. In the pic below John holds a card with shades from white to dark…. Posted by Abhay Deol on Tuesday, April 11, 2017

It says “2-IN-1 FAIRNESS cream”. If you notice her eyes are also lighter than they are in real life. So ‘2-in-1’ must be… Posted by Abhay Deol on Tuesday, April 11, 2017

And the King Khan himself asking you- (Translated)- “Being a man why are you are still using a women’s FAIRNESS cream!?… Posted by Abhay Deol on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 Promotion

Um…this one’s kinda hard to defend as it does say on the side of the packaging- “Indian women agree, skin looks… Posted by Abhay Deol on Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Of course, Deol also made the effort to commend the Bollywood stars who have made the conscious effort to buck this trend by refusing to endorse such creams.

In one of his final posts, the actor makes a direct plea to society by writing, “You have to stop buying into the idea that a particular shade is better than others…While an individual may not be able to change this attitude in his/her community, he/she can at least start with the family.”

You may also like: Watch: This Video Calling out Fairness Products in India Has Taken the Internet by Storm

The actor’s message has been widely hailed by thousands across most social media platforms. And he’s been trending on Twitter since his posts were published.

There’s a lot more of these campaigns that are blatantly, and sometimes subtly, selling you the idea that whiter skin is… Posted by Abhay Deol on Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Read the full post below:

There’s a lot more of these campaigns that are blatantly, and sometimes subtly, selling you the idea that whiter skin is better than darker skin. No one at the top of their game in any field is going to tell you that it is demeaning, false, and racist.

You have to see that for yourself. You have to stop buying into the idea that a particular shade is better than others. Unfortunately if you look at matrimonial ads you will see how entrenched in our psyche this belief is. We even use the word ‘dusk’ to describe the colour of someones skin!

While an individual may not be able to change this attitude in his/her community, he/she can at least start with the family.

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