Dibyendu Bhattacharya, who was recently seen in Alia Bhatt produced web series Poacher, opened up about the discrimination faced by darker skinned actors in the film industry. Dibyendusaid that he works diligently but is fully aware that he is never going to star in a Rs 500 crore film, and he added that he doesn’t aspire to star in such films.
In a chat with YouTube channel Digital Commentary, Dibyendu said, “I do whatever work I get. I don’t have any aspiration of starring in Rs 500 crore film. I don’t get offered such kind of parts. But whatever I get, I do it diligently.” In the same conversation, when Dibyendu was asked about his previous statement that “darker skinned actors don’t get positive roles”, the actor nodded in agreement and said “that is the notion.”
The actor then compared the Indian film industry to Hollywood and said that the West has a “mandate to cast people from all races.” He also acknowledged the racism in western countries but added that the people in Hollywood are “embarrassed of their racist past” but Indians are increasingly become more racist. “I think Indians have become very racist. The racism outside of India is very clear but they want to get out of it. They are embarrassed of their racism. It is a global issue,” he said.
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Dibyendu then brought up that the attitude towards casting darker skinned actors and said that he once watched a show on TV where Lord Krishna’s part was played by a fair-skinned actor. In mythological texts and stories, Krishna has been described as a dark-skinned person. “I was once watching a show called Shri Krishna on TV. And they cast a fair skinned man as Krishna and I thought this is their talent that they have made Krishna fair skinned,” he expressed.
Dibyendu then disappointingly expressed that this “culture is never going to leave us.” He then quoted a dialogue from Swades and said, “There was a very good dialogue in Swades, ‘Jo kabhi nahi jaati usi ko kehte hain jaati’. These things will never leave us.” Dibyendu is best known for his work Dev D, The Railway Men and Rocket Boys.
Previously, actor Priyanka Chopra had also opened up about colourism in Bollywood. In a chat with Dax Shepherd on his podcast, Priyanka spoke about doing ads for fairness creams and admitted that those commercials were “damaging.” “When I joined the movie business, if you were fair you were guaranteed some form of success or casting but if you were darker, I’m not even that dark, for darker girls it was, ‘let’s lighten you up’,” she said.
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