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Bipasha Basu supported the removal of the word ‘Fair’ from the skin care brand and penned a strong post on Instagram. The ‘Race’ actress talked about how the word ‘dusky’ has been used as an adjective for her since childhood. She lauded HUL’s decision and said that other brands should follow the company’s footsteps.
Bipasha also revealed that she received several skin care endorsements in the last 18 years but she chose to stick to her principles and refused the offers. She wrote, “All this needs to stop. This wrong dream that we are selling ... that only fair is lovely and beautiful when the majority of the country is brown skinned. It’s a deep rooted stigma. It’s a mammoth step from the brand... and other brands should follow in the same footsteps soon.”
Check out her full post!
Kangana Ranaut, who has refused several skin whitening and lightening endorsements, is also delighted with the move. "It has been a long and sometimes a very lonely battle but results only happen when the whole nation participates in the movement," the 'Panga' actress' team tweeted on her behalf.
Richa Chadha posted a celebrating message on her Instagram handle and flaunted her 'not fair but lovely' print top.
"NOT FAIR BUT LOVELY, I had gotten this printed on a T shirt back in 2015. Yesterday, the brand @fairandlovely_id and I were finally in agreement! Yesterday, they dropped the word FAIR from their product name... Before you attack the brand for only paying ‘lip service’, please remember, it takes many generations for ideas to change. There is demand and hence there is supply...We have been told since we were children, that fairness is the only definition of beauty! It is also another unfortunate byproduct of colonialism and casteism! But it’s 2020, and a lot of ** is getting dismantled !," the 'Gangs Of Wasseypur' actress wrote.
Abhay Deol,who recently slammed the lobbying culture in Bollywood, also hailed HUL's decision to drop the word 'Fair' from its flagship skin care brand. He wrote, "It took a world backlash and the #blacklivesmatter movement to give us a push in this direction. But make no mistake, all of you who have been vocal about the need for a cultural shift in regard to the sale and endorsement of fairness creams in our country contributed to this victory. We have a long way to go in breaking our conditioning of what constitutes for beauty, but this is a small step in the right direction. It’s the starting point to a long road ahead. What a beautiful beginning! #nomorefairandlovely #peoplepower."
Shah Rukh Khan's daughter Suhana Khan also lauded the historic decision. She shared a note on her Instagram story, which read: "Hindustan Unilever announced that it would rebrand its skin -lightening cream ''Fair and Lovely'' and drop the word ''Fair'' from the product. It has also committed that it will remove all suggestions that success is linked to skin tone or colour in its communication."
Stay tuned for more updates!
(With inputs from IANS)