Racism is rampant in every industry and country. India and the glamour industry is not far behind. There have been several stories of racist attacks on men and women in the film and TV industry. The latest one we heard of was Ulka Gupta's story.
Ulka who catapulted to fame with her powerful act as Jhansi Ki Rani in the serial of the same name, started working as a child artist. Her first TV serial was Resham Dankh, which she did at the age of 7! The show went off air within six months of its premiere because of low TRPs.
In an interview ith DailyBhaskar, Ulka has revealed some shocking but predominant facts that exist in the glamour industry. She spoke about how she had faced racism at the age of 7.
She told the portal, "I was very passionate about acting but surprisingly at the very young age, I came across the dark side of our industry. After wrapping up Resham Dankh, my father and I used to go for the auditions on a daily basis. And every time, I was disappointed to see that the producers are looking for a fair girl. According to them, fair girl represents an up market girl."
She also revealed that she faced several rejections, only on the basis of her skin tone and colour. "I was rejected so many times just for the sake of my dark skin. In fact, due to my complexion, I got a role of Saloni’s daughter in Saat Phere. Since, that show focused on the girl’s courage beyond her dark complexion; the casting directors finalised me. Otherwise, I was rejected most of the time. Surprisingly, after so many years, my casting agent still gets few requirements stating, ‘need a fair complexion girl’. Honestly, I have stopped going for such auditions. Fair hone se koi upmarket nahi dikhta. I want my talent to speak up for me and not the color of my skin."
True that.
