Mother of Ironies: Portrayal of Skin Color in Tamil Cinema (Part 2)

I searched for dark skinned heroines in Tamil cinema. But there are none. Since then, I have a beef with Tamil cinema. 

While heroes in Tamil cinema have song lyrics and dialogues glorifying their dark skin, the heroines' fair skin is celebrated.

"Were you washed clean with white steam? Were you raised without sunlight falling on you? I’m totally confused and floating in the air. I’m totally lost."

That's how Dhanush describes Tapsee Pannu in Yathe, Yathe song from Aadukalam. Though resistant at first, she anyway falls in love with the darker Dhanush. Fair skin is a benchmark for higher status in Indian society. If that's wrong and blatantly classist and casteist, then glorifying fair skin on Indian women as the epitome of beauty is also wrong and blatantly classist and casteist.  

Tapsee wallows to herself about Dhanush's appearance after he confesses his feelings for her - "Did he look at himself in the mirror?" That's wrong but men say that to women who reject them all the time. Both are wrong.

Dhanush is more than a one time offender in this context.

In Padikathavan, Dhanush stalks Tamannah who is the college topper and tortures her in the name of love. Tamannah says that she doesn't even like looking at him. In response, he says that women won't like men who look like him by looking at them at a glance but by looking repeatedly.

Now, Dhanush was looking for a well-educated girl to marry because he didn't pursue higher education. Why does the well-educated girl need to be fair skinned and conventionally beautiful? Dark skinned girls and "average" looking girls can't be well-educated?

When he proposes to Tamannah, he says that he likes her not because she's "beautiful" but because she's well-educated, lying through his teeth. Tamannah soon reciprocates his feelings anyway.

In Thiruvilayadal Aarambam, the fair skinned heroine's friend says that he isn't a match for he is dark skinned.

Depreciation for fair skin and elevation for dark skin from Dhanush follows:

Fair skin is unhealthy - fair skin can't handle any kind of weather - white people lay on the beach to get tanned. 

It's true that dark skin is more resilient than lighter skin tones - one would expect the dark skinned guy to pursue a dark skinned woman after the factual lecture. Disappointingly, that doesn't happen. Suddenly, "Are you the cheesecloth cleaned with white steam? I'm so in love with you," applies.

So, when dark skinned Tamil men want to show their high value, they elevate dark skin on men while putting down fair skin on women. But high value for Tamil men is also dating/marrying a woman who is fair skinned. What is this hypocrisy? 

In Sivaji the Boss, Vivek mocks two blackfaced women as burnt and Rajini rejects them with a disgusted pout. When Shriya rejects Rajini for his dark skin, Vivek says that Tamil Nadu will revolt.

Tamil Nadu only revolts when dark skin on Tamil men is mocked. When the dark skin is on women, Tamil Nadu mocks their skin tone and flatly refuses to cast dark skinned women as leading ladies.

We snub the ladies of our local land with the Dravidian stock skin tone in our entertainment industry. But international entertainment industries are welcoming them. This despite white supremacists calling those Tamil, dark skinned ladies "curry munchers."

It's understandable if our colonizers bully us for our higher melanin concentration. For me, it's even forgivable - but we mocking, discriminating and rejecting our own for being ourselves? That's unforgivable, inexcusable, and reprehensible. If we don't value ourselves, who will? If we're not confident in our own skin tone and are compelled to use products to lighten our skin, who are we trying to hide from and fool?

Of course, Tamannah is "beautiful". Amy Jackson is also "beautiful." In the same vein, Nimisha Sajayan is "beautiful" too. But why did a reporter say that Nimisha isn't that "pretty" but talented? Why do we shy from embracing our own when foreigners are treading on the path for diversity and inclusion?

Yes, Nimisha is from Kerala. What to do? I have to go to other lands to find representation for our girls next door. 

I conclude with the fact that the UK entertainment industry has more Tamil, dark skinned actresses than Tamil cinema. If that's not egregious, I don't know what is!