A look at the Tamil screen shows that the heroines are fair skinned. I have yet to see a dark skinned heroine on the south Indian screen. Even Jayalalita when she was a star is milky white in complexion. These milky white complexioned stars contribute to a beauty culture in South India where skin-whitening creams outsell Coca-Cola. Yet the fact is that most Tamil and south Indian girls are dark complexioned. I wonder why a dark complexioned girl cannot strike out in the Tamil film industry.
One aspect that is overlooked is that the ancient scriptures, epics, or folk tales in Tamil or for that matter in any Indian language, the good character is always portrayed as being fair in complexion. A beautiful princess is always without fail described as being fair and white as snow. This is a dangerous portrayal as it is suggesting that the fair are fair dealing and the dark complexioned has evil intentions. This view has been expressed by Shyamala Bhatia, an associate professor in history at the Bharati College, University of Delhi.
If you add that the white race ruled India and their women were white than it becomes clear why the concept of fairness being superior is embedded deep within the Indian psyche.
But even after the white rulers went away, India‘s concepts of beauty has not changed. Thus milky-complexioned Tamil stars to a massive market for skin lightening creams, the notion that white means beautiful is all pervading in South India. The word for fairness in Hindi is “GORI” and in Tamil it is நேர்மை
Nērmai. I am afraid it will not go from the South Indian psyche.
I will close with a small anecdote. I had been called to give a guest lecture to students on the Law in Madras University. After the lecture I expected to be asked questions about the legal aspects of the lecture. Unfortunately all the girls surrounded me asked me what I did to keep my skin fair. I was non plussed,as I don’t do anything and I am as I am.
