Many
celebrities
are
welcoming
the
decision
by
a
major
brand
to
stop
using
the
words
'fairness',
'lightening'
and
'whitening'
from
their
line
of
products.
Actor
and
filmmaker
Nandita
Das,
who
has
been
the
face
of
the
'Dark
Is
Beautiful'
campaign,
says
she
did
not
see
this
coming,
and
is
pleasantly
surprised.
She
feels
this
is
a
symbolic
gesture
which
will
lead
to
a
wider
debate
on
the
discrimination
based
on
skin
colour.
Mumbai
Mirror
quoted
Nandita
as
saying.
"In
the
midst
of
the
Covid-19
pandemic,
a
number
of
social
wrongs
have
found
a
surprisingly
sympathetic
audience.
The
announcement
today
by
Hindustan
Unilever
that
they
will
remove
the
words
'fairness',
'whitening
and
'lightening'
from
their
line
of
products,
is
something
I
don't
think
anyone
saw
coming.
Even
though
it
is
more
symbolic
(after
all
they
have
not
discontinued
the
product,
just
changed
the
messaging),
it
is
still
a
big
step
forward.
Many
brands
spend
hundreds
of
crores
of
rupees
to
spread
the
absurd
message
of
fair
being
lovely
in
a
largely
dark
country.
So,
when
a
market
leader
steps
in,
at
the
very
least,
it
will
certainly
lead
to
an
even
wider
debate."
Hindustan
Unilever,
on
Thursday,
announced
that
it
will
make
its
portfolio
more
inclusive,
and
will
drop
the
word
'fair'
from
its
'Fair
&
Lovely'
product.
Nandita
added,
"The
world
is
ridden
with
so
many
forms
of
discrimination
-
n
the
basis
of
religion,
caste,
gender,
sexuality,
language
and,
of
course,
skin
colour.
A
given
identity,
that
one
is
born
with,
has
become
the
most
defining
factor.
But
increasingly,
it
is
being
challenged,
and
thankfully,
cannot
be
ignored."
Others
like
Suhana
Khan,
Bipasha
Basu,
Richa
Chadha
and
Abhay
Deol
took
to
their
social
media
handles
to
welcome
this
decision
by
the
brand.