Film industry is famously known not only for producing art work but also for many wrongs prevalent within the industry. From casting-couch, nepotism, favouritism to racism, this industry is breeding ground for all kind of misdeeds.
Coming out on such a sensitive issue like racism, ‘Saugandh’ actress Shanthipriya, talked about the rejection she faced in the early ’90s in the film industry because of her dark skin colour.
Opening up about the humiliation, the former actress, revealed a shocking incident where she was ridiculed by her ‘Saugandh’ co-star Akshay Kumar on the film sets.
Talking about her dark skin tone and how the actress used to be humiliated in front of the entire crew, Shanthipriya revealed that her co-star Akshay Kumar had once made fun of her skin tone.
“My role in the film ‘Ikke Pe Ikka’ was of a modern girl and the script demanded that I had to wear a short dress. I used to wear skin-coloured stockings and once while shooting, Akshay joked about my knees looking darker than usual. He repeatedly said that there were blood clots in my knees and all the actors and other members of the crew had a good laugh,” the actress said in a media interview.
“Today, I am proud of myself but earlier I. I was told that my makeup would not match with the hero and both of us looked different. Then the entire process would be redone. It was very embarrassing. Every day before going to shoot I would get scared as to how people would react to seeing me. There also came a time when I used to spend more time hiding my skin colour rather than improvising on the script or other things,” added Shanthipriya.
The former actress further shared her days in Bollywood that left a deep impression on her mind. The actress told that the shooting used to be stopped because her makeup would not match her co-stars. Her sister Bhanupriya also met the same fate and had to quit films because the industry did not accept her for her skin tone. Shanthipriya, however, did a few films, but her career did not last for too long.
The speculated contestant of Bigg Boss this year, Shanthupriya further said, “Akshay is my good friend and I am not complaining here, but I definitely want to tell you that people have to understand how a joke made about someone’s colour can hurt him/her.”
The former actress also called out racism in film industry and shared her story of struggle in B’town, how she was thrown out of two films because she refused to wear swimsuits and was told that the character demanded a fair heroine.
