Bollywood film shines a light on dark-skin prejudice

Three months ago, a high court judge in Chhattisgarh, hearing a divorce petition by a husband whose wife said he humiliated her for her dark skin, said it was time Indian society changed its "dialogue at home" to eradicate prejudice.

- Amrit Dhillon

As if on cue, a new social comedy, Tera Kya Hoga Lovely (Unfair & Lovely), tackles this issue in the hope of nudging Indians into examining the longstanding preference for light skin.

Directed by Balwinder Singh Janjua, it depicts a woman called Lovely, played by Ileana D'Cruz, who is unable to get married because of her dark skin.

Prospective grooms and their families turn up at her home to inspect the bride. On seeing her, they beat a hasty retreat. One family condescends to considering a marriage but demands double the dowry as "compensation".

She laments to her father he educated her so she could forge her own destiny but society judges her purely on skin colour. The father responds with sadness: "My dear, your complexion overshadowed your destiny." Though an affectionate father, it is the wrong reply: illustrating, says Janjua, how guilty Indian families can be of perpetuating attitudes. He says society discriminates against darkskinned people in the film industry, in jobs, in promotions, in modelling and advertising.