Bollywood Actresses

[Karizma]

Guys dont be fooled, Aishwara Ray and most of those posted here are dark, well darker than Salma Hayek. They are using heavy make-up to make their skin look fair. In Bollywood, and some other movie industries, white chicks are sought to act in movies and because the majority of their population are not white, they use heavy make-up for them.

[karolla]

all nice

[upperhalf]

Originally Posted by AliceInWonderland

all their eyes are wonky and nasty; don't like them; and of coarse they're all "white" indians

Racism is not permitted on this board. And by the way that is the common indian skin colour

[Aella]

They all look absolutely stunning.

[PrettyGirl]

Most of these women are gorgeous and yes, they ARE 'white', light-complected Indians. I wonder if being light-complected is an advantage for them in their industry/culture. I know in Latin America, if you have blue/green eyes and light skin, you get more attention than if you were a indigenous looking hispanic actress. The more European you look, the more appealing it is. You should see some of these Mexican novelas--the 'hot' women, the main stars look more Spanish than Mexican indian (Aztec, Mayan, etc...).

By the way, I know Britain colonized India for decades. I'm sure a lot of them inter-mixed with the Indian women there and that's why you have people in India who look like this--British influence/British blood I'm sure.

[alcohol the honey]

^^Yes. You find that in just about every culture. It's nothing new.

[titolia]

Aishwarya steals the show....

[Natee471]

Most of these women are gorgeous and yes, they ARE 'white', light-complected Indians. I wonder if being light-complected is an advantage for them in their industry/culture. I know in Latin America, if you have blue/green eyes and light skin, you get more attention than if you were a indigenous looking hispanic actress. The more European you look, the more appealing it is. You should see some of these Mexican novelas--the 'hot' women, the main stars look more Spanish than Mexican indian (Aztec, Mayan, etc...).

Aishwarya Rai's features are clearly in the minority and yet for all the millions of Indian women, this minority one represents the beauty of the country.

If one looks at the Bombay Times, Bollywood films, or Indian models, he will notice that the paragon of beauty is that of a light-skinned person with aquiline features. Indian movie stars do not resemble the men and women on the streets of Bombay or other Indian cities. India's movie stars look like light-skinned Iranians, Turks, or Spaniards who speak Hindi. How many Indians have complexions like Preity Zinta or Hrithik Roshan? How many Indians have green eyes like Aishwarya Rai? Probably less than 0.5% of Indians.

I've had a friend who has lived in India for 10 years and many of the women there live and breath bleaching cremes. If someone is even tannish... My goodness they are considered ugly and unattractive and will do anything at all to try to lighten their skin. The fairer ones are put on such a pedestal. They truly worship "white" and when looking for suitable mates, the first thing they look at is the color of that person's skin. When a child is born, they are looking to see what color the child will be. From soaps, to lotions, to cremes, the whole damn epidemic is sad.

Here is a direct quote from an Indian actress:

Rimi Sen who plays Nirali confesses that she also felt that she was a boy in the company of Ajay, Tusshar, Sharman and Arshad. “I play a sweet and beautiful girl in the film. The best thing that I like about the film is that though it has four heroes, I am the only heroine. Rohit Shetty is amazing as a director. He can make even a black African look pretty“.

As well, There is no discounting that Aishwarya Rai is attractive... but many put her on a pedestal as the best, deemed her "The most beautiful woman in the world" and all I see is an above average Indian woman with blue eyes - nothing phenomenal, nothing so overwhelming earth shattering about this woman's look that I haven't seen a billion times.

[VadaFaith]

Dear Hollywood:

Look at these women's bodies. Note the luscious curves -- hips and breasts. Note the lack of lollipop heads and razor-sharp sternums. Note that none of them looks as if she has been liberated from a concentration camp or eating disorder lock-up.

Beauty is not furry skin stretched over a calcium-depleted skeleton.

Get a clue. That is all.

[kitty22]

Originally Posted by PrettyGirl

Most of these women are gorgeous and yes, they ARE 'white', light-complected Indians. I wonder if being light-complected is an advantage for them in their industry/culture. I know in Latin America, if you have blue/green eyes and light skin, you get more attention than if you were a indigenous looking hispanic actress. The more European you look, the more appealing it is. You should see some of these Mexican novelas--the 'hot' women, the main stars look more Spanish than Mexican indian (Aztec, Mayan, etc...).

By the way, I know Britain colonized India for decades. I'm sure a lot of them inter-mixed with the Indian women there and that's why you have people in India who look like this--British influence/British blood I'm sure.

I've seen this view in a lot of places on this board. However, the variety in Indian people is not solely due to British rule. In fact, if I had to put a number on it i'd say that 90% of it doesn't come from the British. The Indian subcontinent has been invaded/ruled by many different types of people over time (thousands of years) including Turks, Persians, Huns, Scythians and many others. For example, the Mughals were descended from Genghis Khan and Tamerlane (Central Asian) and came to name India as their motherland. Here is the general breakdown in the way people look in India/Pakistan:

North/Mountain areas: Mongol / Chinese type eyes
Northern areas: Lighter skinned, light eyes and brown hair are fairly common (see Bollywood actress Preity Zinta)
Southern areas: darker (what most Americans associate with being "Indian" - Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu)

Oh and I shoudl mention that my background is Northern Pakistani and when I go visit, most people are light skinned. This trend carries over into India as well in the same latitude.

I hope this helps. It bothered me enough to read these comments that I registered just to write this!

[crumpet]

Forgive me, but it seems that in that industry, the whiter the better. The only way for a woman in India to be a big actress is to look more causcasian, or at least racially mixed. You won't see any dark brwon starlets, will you? That's a commentary on their caste system and internalized racism, not my own preference. I read what the poster said about there being many light people in India and I don't dispute that. It just seems that the darker ladies aren't held up as icons of beauty for the rest of the populace. I don't live there and could be wrong, it's just that I really like the Bollywood films (wish i could see more) and I don't see darker girls represented like that.

[princesspink]

^ No doubt that Indians like whiter girls better. But i disagree with the point made that these actresses belong to some minority. You are underestimating the population of India. Actually, the places in India with maximum population are in the North (right where you find lighter people) and the places in India with darker people have sparse population.

Moreover, a lot of the chicks we see here look dark to me, so what are we arguing about? Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu and Riya Sen all look dark to me. Only Aishwarya and Celina are light skinned.

[mitra]

Originally Posted by crumpet

Forgive me, but it seems that in that industry, the whiter the better. The only way for a woman in India to be a big actress is to look more causcasian, or at least racially mixed. You won't see any dark brwon starlets, will you? That's a commentary on their caste system and internalized racism, not my own preference. I read what the poster said about there being many light people in India and I don't dispute that. It just seems that the darker ladies aren't held up as icons of beauty for the rest of the populace. I don't live there and could be wrong, it's just that I really like the Bollywood films (wish i could see more) and I don't see darker girls represented like that.

I think you are oversimplifying things. This has nothing to do with "caste sytem" or "racism". Every community has high and low caste people, and majority aren't light at all, on either side. Bollywood is a North Indian film industry, representing the "north indian look". If you wanna see darker indians then watch South Indian movies, they have their own industry, and all the stars look like the community they are representing.

And btw, there are plenty of dark indians in bollywood, tollywood and other local indian film industries. Sameera Reddy, Mallika Sherawat, Bipasha, and Riya are all medium-dark women. And there is plenty more. You can't just watch one movies and decide dark women aren't represented. Since most the people here know nothing about India in general. As stated earlier there are different regional industries in India, all playing to there respective medium. Bollywood is a North Indian film industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_India

[mitra]

Sushmita Sen


Mallika Sherawat


Sameera Reddy


Riya Sen


Bipasha Basu


Shilpa Shetty

[Martirio]

Tanushree Dutta
Her gorgeous smile caught my eye... She's very pretty.