Bollywood has lots of great traditions that define the genre to what it is – highly musical in nature with inventive group choreography and dramatic buildup.
It also boasts of a very racist tradition: brownface.
“It’s actually racism,” said director Neeraj Ghaywan. “Let’s not mince our words.”
Blackface and brownface is most well known for their early uses in American Classical Films following the early 19th century theater tradition.point 274 |
This was blatantly used to humor the white audiences with the features exaggerated of a member of the minority race.point 97 | This was in use in classical theater quite recently with Orson Welles in 1951 and Laurence Olivier in 1965 doing blackface for their rendition of Shakespeare’s “Othello” in West End productions.point 281 | 1
It does have modern Hollywood examples, none all too well received.point 179 | Dan Aykroyd wore blackface and dreadlocks in 1983’s “Trading Places,” and Robert Downey Jr.point 275 |
appeared several shades darker in 2012’s “Tropic Thunder,” to play a white Australian method actor who darkened his skin to play a black man in a Vietnam war film.point 153 | 1
Bollywood utilizes brownface with many varying techniques, and with much more darker undertone compared to its American counterpart’s usage of brownface — by temporarily darkening the skin of performers, especially they are portraying characters from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the stereotype still hanging that hardworking underclass is shade darker, with the reality that the real actors will never be appointed for their ‘real’ dark skins.point 561 | 1
For example, “Bala” is actually a movie that on the surface discusses the struggle of the protagonist going through the transgressions of skin type stereotype.point 257 |
The actress Bhumi Pednekar, who had her skin darkened in order to play the role, was heavily criticized, due to the fact that the whole setup and the production seemed ironic to many.point 153 | The move was slammed by some Indian media outlets, commentators and on social media.point 224 |
Some tweeted that it was outrageous considering that the actress is portrayed in the movie “surrounded by skin lightening products (and) is actually lightskinned and in brownface.point 159 | ”point 166 | 1
Pednekar defended her casting, saying ‘factors apart from physical appearance play a major role’: “If a filmmaker has taken me, it is because I add some value to the film.” The director, Amar Kaushik tried with some words, saying he “thought about casting a dark-skinned actor,” but “felt Bhumi was superb for this character.”
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