Nandita Das Did Not See MNC's Decision Regarding Fairness Products, Coming; Welcomes It

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.