Racism & Colorism in India. Punjabi Actress shares her experience

[iamnobody]

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After Shehnaaz Gill, Sonam Bajwa Now Calls Out Punjabi Industry Over Sidelining Her: “Makers Would Remove Me From A Film & Not Even Let Me Know…”​

Shehnaaz Gill isn’t the only one who was banned by Punjabi industry, actress Sonam Bajwa recalls facing the worst. Read more details!​

By
Koimoi.com Team
-
May 9, 2023

Sonam Bajwa Agrees With Shehnaaz Gill, Reveals Her Horrific Experience In The Punjabi Film Industry!(Photo Credit –Instagram)
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Shehnaaz Gill rose to fame with her stint in Bigg Boss 13. The actress is today a part of big Bollywood films, including Salman Khan’s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and 100% alongside John Abraham, Nora Fatehi and Riteish Deshmukh. She originally hails from Punjab and recently revealed the regional industry is sidelining her and does not invite her to premiere of her own film. Now, Sonam Bajwa is calling them out and sharing how she went through a similar experience.
For the unversed, Sonam began her showbiz journey with the 2013 Punjabi film, Best Of Luck. She’s been predominantly a part of many films from the regional industry, along with a few roles in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. She won the ‘Best Actress’ award at PTC Punjabi Film Awards for her excellent work in Ardab Mutiyaran in 2020.

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Sonam Bajwa revealed facing the worst as she was sidelined by the Punjabi industry. She reacted to the claims made by Shehnaaz Gill and said, “So in the industry, when it was shunned and big and successful celebs were given importance, so to be honest, it did not affect me much as I had seen much worse than this. I have also experienced that the makers would remove me from a film and not even let me know, so I have been through such times, but it doesn’t affect me much.”

During the conversation, Sonam Bajwa revealed she faced bias because of not being ‘gori chitti’ as per the unrealistic beauty standards. She added, “When I was growing up as a kid, I was bullied for my skin colour because as a Punjabi, I was not (Gori chitti) fair enough. A few of my relatives never even invited me to their house ever. I have never seen their houses while growing up. But when I did well in my career, they called me to their house all the time, but unfortunately, I lost connection and respect. So this is life everyone respects successful people in industry or society.”

Sonam Bajwa, however, pledges to be the change and not become like them. More power to her!

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What a sick country this is! Punjabis , Pathans & North Indians of bollywood have turned Indians into racists.


@jamahir

 

[lastofthepatriots]

I don’t think people in Pakistani actually care about skin color, but whatever.. maybe some people do that are uneducated.

 

[Maula Jatt]

"My relatives never invited me to their house "
Braah I am dead

Can you imagine being like Bleach you ugly, you ain't coming to my house no more
I can't lol...

 

[waz]

I don’t think people in Pakistani actually care about skin color, but whatever.. maybe some people do that are uneducated.

I think more females do bro, which is odd considering so much of Pakistan is fair. Men don’t, good looking brown or fair is fine.

 

[-=virus=-]

sounds BS, reeks of BS

besides, OP is a troll

apna purana ID bata, BC, @iamnobody .. my best guess is Nilu, with a brand spanking new personality

 

[iamnobody]

sounds BS, reeks of BS

besides, OP is a troll

apna purana ID bata, BC, @iamnobody .. my best guess is Nilu, with a brand spanking new personality

Sab zhoothe aur aap sanghi bas sache. Tum toh sabko ya chur chamar kehte ho.

Accounts Of Racism In Bollywood That Expose The Dark Side Of The Industry​

Gaurav Arora

This year, we’ll celebrate 70 years of our Independence but our society still suffers from a colonial hangover which discriminates on the basis of skin tone. The colour bias is so ingrained in our country that even the most influential sections like the film fraternity have fallen prey to it. While our media cries foul over Bollywood actors facing racism in the West, innumerable untold tales of racism remain waiting to be exposed in Bollywood itself.
Recently, casting director Sanjay Chouhan made a statement with regard to Nawazuddin’s looks that simply highlighted Bollywood’s obsession with fair skin.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui was clearly not happy with these remarks and it was made evident with his tweet.

But this isn’t the first time that such blatant discrimination has happened on the basis of one’s skin colour. Here are 10 more instances where Bollywood celebrities have faced racist discrimination within the industry:

1. Nawazuddin Siddiqui​

The Sanjay Chouhan incident wasn’t the first time that Nawazuddin had to face racism. A few years ago, he had to suffer the brunt of racist remarks by none other than senior actor Rishi Kapoor. Replying to Nawaz’s views on cliched romance in Bollywood, Kapoor called him an average actor who is not capable of doing romantic films because he doesn’t have the image and the talent to pull them off.

2. Bipasha Basu​

Cat fights between Bollywood actresses are not uncommon. One such alleged verbal duel between Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu took place during the shooting of Ajnabee and ended on a racist note. According to reports, Kareena Kapoor allegedly called Bipasha Basu a ‘kaali billi’ (black cat), referring to Basu’s dusky complexion. While Bipasha never cleared the air over this controversy, it still remains one of the low points of Bollywood.

​

3. Manoj Bajpai​

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Bajpai has tasted success in commercial as well as in art house cinema. One such fine performance by Bajpai was in his critically acclaimed 2001-film Zubeidaa. His character of a prince in the movie was the vision of veteran director Shyam Benegal. However, that couldn’t save Bajpai from mean comments which ranged from mocking to racism, despite the movie getting rave reviews.

​

4. Frieda Pinto​

Popularly known for Hollywood movie Slumdog Millionaire, she’s another actress who has been at the receiving end of racial remarks due to her dusky complexion, especially in her modelling days. Frieda has in fact time and again accused Bollywood of being fascinated with white-skinned actors and has openly expressed her disgust about the auditioning process for films in India.

​

5. Dhanush​

Dhanush is one of the biggest names in South India, but when it was his time to rise and shine in Bollywood, he didn’t disappoint! In fact, his portrayal of a Banarasi roadside romeo in Raanjhanaa was one of the most heart-warming performances of 2013. However, the sad part is that people in the industry couldn’t get over their racial fixations and questioned director Anand L. Rai’s choice till the very end.

​

6. Smita Patil​

The demons of racial discrimination have haunted Bollywood. As an example of which, noted director Mahesh Bhatt revealed that even yesteryear actress Smita Patil suffered at its hands. Bhatt, who worked with Smita Patil in Arth, says, “Smita was never apologetic about her looks. She refused to conform to the prescribed maxims of the film industry. Culturally, the word ‘kali’ or ‘kala’ was used to demean someone. Our minds are coloured by the racism that was practised by the British during their rule in India, and it takes years to unshackle oneself from this slave mentality. We may have won political freedom, but socially, we are still slaves to such a backward mindset.”

7. Usha Jadhav​

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Bhootnath Returns actress Usha Jadhav, who has even won a National Award, also faced problems due to her skin tone and became a victim to the prejudice.

​

8. Dipannita Sharma​

While Bollywood has been tight-lipped about its racist endeavours, fashion and modelling industry doesn’t even bother to keep it under the sheets. Former supermodel and Bollywood actress Dipannita Sharma reveals that foreign models have an upper hand when it comes to big ticket events because of Indian designers’ fixation with fair skin.

​

9. Nandita Das​

The most prolific name in parallel cinema, Das could have had an equally successful career in commercial cinema but the socially-aware actress deliberately stayed away. She has also fought against the prejudices prevalent in Bollywood. Taking a firm stand over the racist facet of Bollywood, the actress supports the ‘Dark is beautiful’ campaign that fights the obsession with fair skin.

​

​

https://paid.outbrain.com/network/r...as0EvcPwcZJVhPe6BtqQRlmF5NCJ1T&c=51241cf4&v=4

 

[PakFactor]

Sab zhoothe aur aap sanghi bas sache. Tum toh sabko ya chur chamar kehte ho.

Accounts Of Racism In Bollywood That Expose The Dark Side Of The Industry​

Gaurav Arora

This year, we’ll celebrate 70 years of our Independence but our society still suffers from a colonial hangover which discriminates on the basis of skin tone. The colour bias is so ingrained in our country that even the most influential sections like the film fraternity have fallen prey to it. While our media cries foul over Bollywood actors facing racism in the West, innumerable untold tales of racism remain waiting to be exposed in Bollywood itself.
Recently, casting director Sanjay Chouhan made a statement with regard to Nawazuddin’s looks that simply highlighted Bollywood’s obsession with fair skin.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui was clearly not happy with these remarks and it was made evident with his tweet.

But this isn’t the first time that such blatant discrimination has happened on the basis of one’s skin colour. Here are 10 more instances where Bollywood celebrities have faced racist discrimination within the industry:

1. Nawazuddin Siddiqui​

The Sanjay Chouhan incident wasn’t the first time that Nawazuddin had to face racism. A few years ago, he had to suffer the brunt of racist remarks by none other than senior actor Rishi Kapoor. Replying to Nawaz’s views on cliched romance in Bollywood, Kapoor called him an average actor who is not capable of doing romantic films because he doesn’t have the image and the talent to pull them off.

2. Bipasha Basu​

Cat fights between Bollywood actresses are not uncommon. One such alleged verbal duel between Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu took place during the shooting of Ajnabee and ended on a racist note. According to reports, Kareena Kapoor allegedly called Bipasha Basu a ‘kaali billi’ (black cat), referring to Basu’s dusky complexion. While Bipasha never cleared the air over this controversy, it still remains one of the low points of Bollywood.

​

3. Manoj Bajpai​

ADVERTISEMENT

Bajpai has tasted success in commercial as well as in art house cinema. One such fine performance by Bajpai was in his critically acclaimed 2001-film Zubeidaa. His character of a prince in the movie was the vision of veteran director Shyam Benegal. However, that couldn’t save Bajpai from mean comments which ranged from mocking to racism, despite the movie getting rave reviews.

​

4. Frieda Pinto​

Popularly known for Hollywood movie Slumdog Millionaire, she’s another actress who has been at the receiving end of racial remarks due to her dusky complexion, especially in her modelling days. Frieda has in fact time and again accused Bollywood of being fascinated with white-skinned actors and has openly expressed her disgust about the auditioning process for films in India.

​

5. Dhanush​

Dhanush is one of the biggest names in South India, but when it was his time to rise and shine in Bollywood, he didn’t disappoint! In fact, his portrayal of a Banarasi roadside romeo in Raanjhanaa was one of the most heart-warming performances of 2013. However, the sad part is that people in the industry couldn’t get over their racial fixations and questioned director Anand L. Rai’s choice till the very end.

​

6. Smita Patil​

The demons of racial discrimination have haunted Bollywood. As an example of which, noted director Mahesh Bhatt revealed that even yesteryear actress Smita Patil suffered at its hands. Bhatt, who worked with Smita Patil in Arth, says, “Smita was never apologetic about her looks. She refused to conform to the prescribed maxims of the film industry. Culturally, the word ‘kali’ or ‘kala’ was used to demean someone. Our minds are coloured by the racism that was practised by the British during their rule in India, and it takes years to unshackle oneself from this slave mentality. We may have won political freedom, but socially, we are still slaves to such a backward mindset.”

7. Usha Jadhav​

ADVERTISEMENT

Bhootnath Returns actress Usha Jadhav, who has even won a National Award, also faced problems due to her skin tone and became a victim to the prejudice.

​

8. Dipannita Sharma​

While Bollywood has been tight-lipped about its racist endeavours, fashion and modelling industry doesn’t even bother to keep it under the sheets. Former supermodel and Bollywood actress Dipannita Sharma reveals that foreign models have an upper hand when it comes to big ticket events because of Indian designers’ fixation with fair skin.

​

9. Nandita Das​

The most prolific name in parallel cinema, Das could have had an equally successful career in commercial cinema but the socially-aware actress deliberately stayed away. She has also fought against the prejudices prevalent in Bollywood. Taking a firm stand over the racist facet of Bollywood, the actress supports the ‘Dark is beautiful’ campaign that fights the obsession with fair skin.

​

​

https://paid.outbrain.com/network/r...as0EvcPwcZJVhPe6BtqQRlmF5NCJ1T&c=51241cf4&v=4

What I find comical about this is that the directors want a "gori/gora chitti" for males and females because that's what the audience demands when the audience themselves are "kala" looking.

 

[iamnobody]

What I find comical about this is that the directors want a "gori/gora chitti" for males and females because that's what the audience demands when the audience themselves are "kala" looking.

Like majority of Mohajirs, Punjabis and Sindhis

 

[-=virus=-]

Sab zhoothe aur aap sanghi bas sache. Tum toh sabko ya chur chamar kehte ho.

Accounts Of Racism In Bollywood That Expose The Dark Side Of The Industry​

 

[PakFactor]

Like majority of Mohajirs, Punjabis and Sindhis

Seem's I touched your cope nerve. But sadly, the majority are fair-skinned; I guess you, one of the street sweepers left behind, have no choice but to breed with kalu's, and it's hurting you, Pandit.

 

[iamnobody]

Seem's I touched your cope nerve. But sadly, the majority are fair-skinned; I guess you, one of the street sweepers left behind, have no choice but to breed with kalu's, and it's hurting you, Pandit.

Yeah right!

No wonder white Pathan Imran thinks it's his God given right to rule over you inferior Muhajir Poonjabi Sindhi Kaalias.

 

[PakFactor]

Yeah right!

No wonder white Pathan Imran thinks it's his God given right to rule over you inferior Muhajir Poonjabi Sindhi Kaalias.

Cope, sir. Keep rubbing that whitening cream as you rub on Italian leather (if you can afford it as a gutter cleaner); eventually, you'll get a little browner.

 

[iamnobody]

Cope, sir. Keep rubbing that whitening cream as you rub on Italian leather (if you can afford it as a gutter cleaner); eventually, you'll get a little browner.

Ok bhagoda Muhajir guy who ran away to Amreeka.

White Pathan Imran said he rather nuke Pakistan than having it ruled by Mouhajir Punjabi Sindhi Kaalias

 

[PakFactor]

Ok bhagoda Muhajir guy who ran away to Amreeka.

White Pathan Imran said he rather nuke Pakistan than having it ruled by Mouhajir Punjabi Sindhi Kaalias

You are so obsessed with kala's that you might as well gouge out your eyes before you look in the mirror next time. Lol.

 

[iamnobody]

You are so obsessed with kala's that you might as well gouge out your eyes before you look in the mirror next time. Lol.

I love to troll North Indian and Pakistani Kaalias who think they are white