Anushka Sharma is one of the most bankable stars in the Hindi film industry today. The actress, who turns 35 on May 1, has been a leading actress for close to 15 years now. Over the years, she has expanded her stardom into the world of endorsement as well, working as a brand ambassador for various companies. However, a few years ago, Anushka did draw the line on one particular product, or rather a line of products. On her birthday, a look back at when Anushka rejecyed multi-crore brand endorsement for ideological reasons.
In 2015, after Anushka was appointed as brand ambassador by shampoo brand Pantene, the actress interacted with the media at the announcement conference. There, the actress opened up on why she would never endorsement fairness creams, a line of products extremely popular in India and one that has been endorsed by most major Indian celebs. “I would not endorse products that propagate racist and sexiest (beliefs)….and propagate social taboo. I don’t want to endorse products that propagate fair skin and all. I will not propagate anything that says this is right or wrong,” Anushka Sharma told reporters as per a PTI report.
As per some reports later in 2015, Anushka had, in fact, rejected a few offers she got from fairness cream brands, some of which were in multiple crores. However, the actress stuck to her guns and refused to endorse any fairness cream product, something she hasn’t done till date.
Apart from Anushka, several other mainstream stars have also opened up on not wanting to endorse fairness creams. Recently, Priyanka Chopra said that though she did endorse fairness creams earlier in her career, she would not now as she knows better.
Anushka will be making her grand comeback to acting this year with the Jhulan Goswami biopic Chakda Xpress. The sports film will mark her return to the big screen in a lead role for the first time since 2018.
