Discrimination on basis of skin colour unwarranted: Nandita Das

Actor-director Nandita Das says there is a need to put the 'unity in diversity' line to practice but such is the level of discrimination that fair is considered lovely in a country where 90 per cent of the population has dark skin.

Das says she was fortunate that her parents did not put any complex about her skin colour but she encountered such biases in the film industry.

"Everybody faces that discrimination, everyone who is dark has, especially in this industry. Like if I do the role of a slum dweller, a rural character, a Malayalai or Bengali film, then it is fine. But the minute you do the role of affluent, educated women they would say, you need to lighten your skin," Das told PTI.

"We don't need to be defining ourselves with the colour of our skin, there is lot more to all of us and we need to explore that."

The actor, who has been associated with the campaign 'Dark is Beautiful', says she fails to understand the divide prevailing in society be it for skin colour or religion, ...