Arey hero! Gora, chitta, lamba, you look like a Bollywood hero, you should try your hand at films.

Hey fair-and-handsome guys, how many of you have heard this from your relatives or friends? I am guessing quite a lot. But how many of the dark-skinned-not-so-tall men have heard this? We are guessing the numbers are few. Because, for example, in Bollywood films, the TDH (tall, dark and handsome) and TFH (tall, fair and handsome) men woo the ladies (heroines). With looks. And, your character and personality are secondary determinants.

If we don’t talk about it, racism and sexism in Bollywood still exist. Just a few days ago, Nawazuddin Siddiqui in one of the interviews said that he became confident about how he looked only when he went abroad because, in India, he was constantly conscious of how he looked.

Racism, much? Well, that’s been the age old mantra in B-Town and the films. Hinting at it in a very cryptic way is the Raees star Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He tweeted,

 

Nawazuddin

The trailer of Nawazuddin’s Babumoshai Bandookbaaz has released a few days ago and it garnered a lot of praises. However, not many know that Chitrangada had left the project midway and later, Bengali actress Bidita Bag in the lead role along with Divya Dutta, Murli Sharma, and others.

 

A Deccan Chronicle report quoted the casting director of the film, Sanjay Chouhan and he said, “Nawaz was on the project even before its inception. Later Chitrangada Singh who was roped in opposite Nawaz left the project abruptly. So we had to again hunt for the leading lady.”

However, what was shocking was how he made a comment about Nawaz. He was quoted in the report saying,

 

“Keeping Nawaz in mind, all other characters were taken on board. We can’t cast fair and handsome people with Nawaz. It would look so weird. You have to take people with distinct features and personalities when pairing them with him.”

Even though the intent of what he said might not have been condescending or offensive but this for sure is wrong at a lot of levels. We as a society are obsessed with the concept of fair and handsome and the irony is, it’s totally unfair.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui Hints At Racism, Tweets About Not Being Cast With Fair Actors

A tweet from actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui hinting at Bollywood’s racist underbelly is at once illuminating and obfuscating. This morning, the 43-year-old actor posted a tweet addressed to nobody in particular, that read: “Thank you for making me realise that I cannot be paired with the fair and handsome because I am dark and not good looking, but I never focus on that.” Nawazuddin’s tweet is perhaps a response to what Sanjay Chauhan, the casting director for the actor’s film Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, told Deccan Chronicle this week: “We can’t cast fair and handsome people with Nawaz. It would look so weird. You have to take people with distinct features and personalities when pairing them with him.”

See Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s tweet:

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Nawazuddin Siddiqui ✔ @Nawazuddin_S
Thank U 4 making me realise dat I cannot b paired along wid d fair & handsome bcz I m dark & not good looking, but I never focus on that.
10:42 PM – 17 Jul 2017
4,124 4,124 Retweets 15,368 15,368 likes
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Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been flooded with encouraging responses from director Hansal Mehta and others praising his talent and telling him he’s ‘special’:

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Hansal Mehta ✔ @mehtahansal
Replying to @Nawazuddin_S
That’s why you are special Nawaz.
11:19 PM – 17 Jul 2017
36 36 Retweets 393 393 likes
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19h
Nawazuddin Siddiqui ✔ @Nawazuddin_S
Thank U 4 making me realise dat I cannot b paired along wid d fair & handsome bcz I m dark & not good looking, but I never focus on that.
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Sumit @SRKholicSumit
You’re an actor and not a model. You’re one of the best talents we have in our country, sir.
10:50 PM – 17 Jul 2017
6 6 Retweets 189 189 likes
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Naveen Kumar Singh @Na7vs
Replying to @Nawazuddin_S
You may have dark complexion but they have dark heart. People like you can even shine even in the darkness (Bollywood ).
10:47 PM – 17 Jul 2017
2 2 Retweets 27 27 likes
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Deeps @LouveWaiWai
Replying to @Nawazuddin_S @BakwasRadio
I think you looked very handsome in Kahaani. I am pretty sure you can carry any role, even chocolate hero.
11:41 PM – 17 Jul 2017
Retweets 27 27 likes
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#007 @sherlock551
Replying to @Nawazuddin_S
Arey Kaun bola bhai? nam to bata😡😡😡
10:54 PM – 17 Jul 2017
8 8 Retweets 172 172 likes
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Nawazuddin Siddiqui said racism is prevalent everywhere, saying his acting ambitions were laughed at in his village because of the way he looks. He refused to say whether his tweet was a response to Sanjay Chauhan’s comment.

The film industry’s preference for ‘fair and lovely’ has been actively contested in the recent past. Months ago, Abhay Deol shared a series of posts on Facebook calling out colleagues like Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone for appearing in advertisements for fairness creams. Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee wrote about leaving a comedy show she was appearing on as a guest midway after rude jokes were made about her complexion. Nawazuddin’s Manto director Nandita Das spearheads a campaign titled ‘Dark Is Beautiful.’

Nawazuddin Siddiqui started off in Bollywood years ago with small parts in films such as Sarfarosh and Dev D. He then shot to fame with pivotal roles in Kahaani and Talaash and has had his pick of projects ever since, starring in acclaimed films like The Lunchbox and Badlapur. This year, he has co-starred with Shah Rukh Khan in Raees and Sridevi in MOM. He appears in this week’s release Munna Michael with Tiger Shrof

 

In an earlier interview to HT, Nawazuddin had said how a leading female actor in Bollywood declined the offer of starring opposite him for his looks. “Looks still seems to be the deciding factor in the industry in most cases. Pehle bhi tha aur abhi bhi hain. Recently, when the director of one of my films approached a famous actress, she rejected the offer saying hinting at how we don’t match lookwise and added ‘he is a good actor par nehi yaar abhi nehi karni hain…’” recounts Nawazuddin without divulging her name.