27-year-old Tamilian heart-throb Sai Pallavi turned down a 2 crore deal for a fairness cream receiving applaud from her fans and more for taking a stand against unhealthy beauty standards.
India, a country that has been borderline obsessed with the idea that fair skin is beautiful has also provided a thriving market for fairness cream brands. Such a perilous stigma needs to be overcome to empower the women in our country and actress Sai Pallavi’s refusal to comply to it is merely another step forward.
The Fidaa actress, when asked about why she turned down the offer replied by saying “This is the Indian colour. We can't go to foreigners and ask them why they're white, and if they know that they will get cancer because of it. That's their skin colour and this is ours.”
The actress made her debut with Preman in 2015 and said that if she had never done the film then her insecurities would have also driven her to apply 100 such creams and concoctions to be accepted. She admitted that she too was guilty of using the colour of someone’s skin to judge and critique them. When she was little, her younger sister Pooja was comparatively darker than her and she said that she tricked her little sister to eat fruits and vegetables by telling her that she would grow fair if she does so.
She then realized what an impact such comments have.
Famous for her fresh faced look. Sai Pallavi suffers from a rare skin disease called Rosacea, where her skin is photosensitive, i.e., sensitive to bright lights especially the ones sued for shooting. Such exposure leads to redness, acne and more.
The actress completed her medical degree in 2016 and is a physician by profession. Sai Pallavi belongs to a new wave of actresses who are reforming how the audiences perceive beauty in cinema. She has millions of fans and her outlook on such things is a fresh gush of air amidst the sensationalism, over the top beauty standards, the media portrays for women.
The reach of her decision might not be much, but a step towards eradicating the illogical portrayal of “ideal beauty”, is a step still. We hope that more female entertainers join hands in fighting against this deeply rooted evil. We need more Sai Pallavi’s to stand up so that everyone, young and old alike know that beauty comes from within and not in a tube manufactured in factories.
