To untrained eyes, it’s easy to get caught up in the glamour and glitz of Bollywood movies, but what lies under the copious amounts of colorful silks and catchy dance numbers are harmful societal expectations for women that date back thousands of years to the creation of Hinduism. To understand how Hinduism influences the Bollywood industry, it’s important to note the two main genres of Bollywood—one that reflects more traditional and religious values and another that takes on more Western values.[1] An example of these starkly different genres is cinemas and serials about the Ramayana and other Hindu mythology, whereas some of the more Western-themed Bollywood movies are reminiscent of the Fast and Furious or Mission Impossible movieseries.
However, despite taking on more Western movie tropes and ideals in cinema, Indian and specifically Hindu values are still present in films throughout the years. An instance of this can be seen in Indian cinema in the 70s and 80s, where “… the good female character was shown as a timid and oppressed woman who suffered the mental, and often physical, torture of her family members without a word.”[2] Similarly, “both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata—which includes the Bhagavad Gita, a crucial document in religious history—contain extensive references to idealized, self-sacrificing females.”[3] This portrayal of women only continued in the 80s and 90s, with the one-dimensional female lead who is to be saved by the male hero in a choreographed fight sequence.[4] Sure, Bollywood changed by incorporating some of the flashier aspects of Western cinema with Jackie Chan-like fight scenes and skimpier outfits, but the female lead remains the damsel in distress. The idea and expectation that women are dependent on men is only bolstered by Hindu Scripture, like the Laws of Manu which states, “In childhood a woman should be under her father’s control, in youth under her husband’s, and when her husband is dead, under her sons’. She should not have independence.”[5]
On the bright side, as we move into the 2000s women start having more impactful roles in Bollywood due to there being more women involved in directing and writing movies now. In addition, with powerful movements like feminism, more and more people are becoming aware of gender inequalities which makes those classic damsel and distress roles less normalized and even openly criticized. However, that doesn’t mean that the Indian film industry is completely off the hook with their portrayal of women. To even get cast in many modern Bollywood movies women must have a bikini body, be able to dance, and have the “proper” complexion, just to name a few, on top of their role as an actress. It’s sad to see that we truly haven’t come far from some of the over-the-top beauty standards when the Laws of Manu advise men to, “…marry a woman who does not lack any part of her body and who has a pleasant name, who walks like a goose or elephant (that is gracefully), whose body hair and hair on the head is fine, whose teeth are not big, and who has delicate limbs.”[6]
While some of the standards of beauty have changed over the years what has stayed constant since the creation of Hinduism is the ideal of having fair skin. I had originally believed the obsession for fair skin amongst Indian women had developed due to British colonization and was shocked to find that “… the ideals associated with mythology in India, even as depicted in carvings and stonework, portray a physiological type that is somewhat at variance with the actual phenotypical appearance of individuals in the region.”[7] This ancient beauty standard can be seen in numerous depictions of Sita—the ideal woman and wife in Hindu scripture—where she has extremely fair skin and barely resembles a woman from South Asia.[8] Likewise, Bollywood actresses are expected to uphold those same unrealistic beauty standards, which has resulted in an estimated 500-million-dollar industry in skin-whitening in India.[9] One of the most popular brands of skin-whitening products is Fair & Lovely which has been on Indian shelves since 1975 and equate fair skin with increased beauty and success.[10] The craze for fair skin has resulted in many women misusing potent medications like betamethasone that is typically used to treat psoriasis and eczema to lighten their skin.[11]This has resulted in adverse side effects like rapid hair growth, red raised rashes, and severe acne eruptions on the face.[12] These side effects aren’t even temporary, some victims must live with them like Banik, who permanently has facial hair after going off the cream. She states that, “‘my self-confidence dropped. I remember overhearing a classmate discussing how I looked worse than a pig and that stayed in my head for far too long. It took me years to rebuild my self-confidence.’”[13]
It may seem like I’m a total downer at this point in my blog, but there has truly been no better time than the present for Indian women in terms of re-writing the narrative on beauty standards and stereotypes. A lot of Indian women are starting to reject the notion that fair skin is more beautiful than dark skin, with popular campaigns like “Dark is Beautiful” by Kavitha Emmanuel—the founder of an Indian NGO called Woman of Worth.[14] In addition, we are seeing more Bollywood movies that showcase empowering female leads like in Queen which is directed by Vikas Bahl. It follows, the story of a timid girl named Rani who is engaged and preparing for her wedding, but the day before the wedding her fiancé calls it off and she decides to embark on her honeymoon to Paris and Amsterdam alone. The movie shows comparisons between her life at home and in Paris and Amsterdam which highlights her transformation into an independent woman now that she has the independence to do things on her own. The best part is the ending where she returns her ring to her fiancé and thanks him for allowing her to find herself. The premise might not be that ground-breaking by Western standards, but it was one of the few feminist films that India got right.
One reason why this movie was such a success was because a lot of Indian women could see themselves in Rani with her low self-esteem since women are expected to be subdued and submissive in Indian society and pretty much all throughout Asia. Furthermore, what made her transition into a more confident woman so appealing to Indian women is that although she was being influenced by Western society, she never gave up her Indian roots by wearing her Indian attire in Europe no matter how out of place she looked surrounded by white people. A notable scene of this is when she has a “girl-gone-wild” scene and gets drunk at a club on her trip. This scene was so relatable because despite dancing alongside white women she still retained her own identity and had fun in her own awkward and endearing way instead of trying to change herself which was refreshing compared to the usual messaging in Indian media towards women.
In short, while Indian media is extremely flawed due to patriarchal and colorist viewpoints that have lasted for thousands of years, it’s also emerging as a place for women to find solace in themselves and their place in society in recent years, which is a beautiful thing. It’s going to be a long uphill battle for us, but I know that we are moving in the right direction.
- Jane Duran, “Bollywood and the Feminine: Hinduism and Images of Womanhood” in Beauty Unlimited, ed. Peg Zeglin Brand (New York: Indiana University Press, 2012), p. 318.
- Salva Mubarak, “How Leading Roles for Women in Bollywood Have Evolved Over the Years,” Vogue India, March 15, 2019, https://www.vogue.in/content/how-leading-roles-for-women-female-actors-in-bollywood-movies-have-evolved-over-the-years-kangana-ranaut-queen-sridevi-chandni.
- Duran, “Bollywood and the Feminine”, p. 318
- Mubarak, “Leading Roles for Women”
- Paul B. Courtright, “Hinduism” in in Don S. Browning, M. Christian Green, and John Witte, Jr., Sex, Marriage & Family in World Religions, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), p. 242.
- Courtright, “Hinduism”, p. 241.
- Duran, “Bollywood and the Feminine”, p. 320.
- Duran, “Bollywood and the Feminine”, p. 320.
- Lauren Frayer, “Black Lives Matter Gets Indians Talking About Skin Lightening and Colorism,” NPR, July 9, 2020, https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/09/860912124/black-lives-matter-gets-indians-talking-about-skin-lightening-and-colorism.
- Frayer, “Skin Lightening and Colorism”
- Pallabi Munsi, “‘Fairness mania’ is fueling a dangerous drug dependence in India”, CNN, n.d, accessed November 21, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/11/health/skin-lightening-india-health-risks-intl-cmd/.
- Munsi, “Drug dependence in India”
- Munsi, “Drug dependence in India”
- Mary-Rose Abraham, “Dark is beautiful: the battle to end the world’s obsession with lighter skin”, The Guardian, September 4, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/sep/04/dark-is-beautiful-battle-to-end-worlds-obsession-with-lighter-skin.
This investigation was very interesting! As someone who isn’t super familiar with Bollywood, I found these analyses to be very profound. I appreciated how you connected the portrayal of women in Bollywood with what is seen in Hindu texts. I also did not know about the racism that is perpetrated in Bollywood. It was great to hear that things are moving towards a better future, however. I’m intrigued by this conversation and will definitely look more into this!
I think Bollywood is a great example of how including women in any process has been traditionally dominated by men will result in feminist improvements to that institution. You mentioned how Bollywood saw an uptick in the portrayal of women as more of them became writers, directors, etc of movies in the 80s/90s/2000s, and while there were certainly still issues after this shift, the general culture began to shift for the better. I also had no idea about the prevalence of skin bleaching in India, not to mention its popularity resulting from Bollywood. I learned a ton from your presentation!
I learned so much from this post! The colorism present in Bollywood felt very reminiscent of battles that women of color are fighting worldwide. What I thought was particularly interesting is that the pale beauty standard in India predates colonization. It’s so great that things are beginning to change, and I like how you highlighted how women’s involvement in film has so much power to change how Indian women perceive themselves.
I thought this was a really interesting topic and perfectly summarized a lot of the themes I’ve seen when watching Bollywood films. I especially liked your explanation of how the depiction of women in cinema has evolved over time and the perseverant trope of the damsel in distress. I also liked that you explained how the obsession with fair skin developed before British colonization (since I also assumed it was from that). Your presentation’s inclusion of historical depictions of Sita really solidified this point. Really interesting topic!
I have not watched any Bollywood films so I learned a lot from this presentation! Interesting that colorism began way before British colonization as I would’ve assumed the same thing. All your visuals throughout the presentation were very helpful for supporting your points. Good to know that things are improving for women in that industry!
This presentation was interesting. I did not know that women were bleaching their skin to have fair skin. It is upsetting to think that women were held to such high standards for their beauty. It is great that things are changing now!
This presentation was very interesting to me because I knew nothing about this topic prior to this! I thought the side by side pictures that you had were very effective in getting your point across because it highlighted just how much whiteness was admired and aspired to in Bollywood culture. Overall I think your presentation was really good and showed me how much more this topic needs to be talked about.
This was such an interesting analysis! It is deeply sad to see the ways in which colorism is impacting these women and like you did I would have also thought it would be due to British colonialism. Your presentation helped clear up this misconception for me as well as offer hope to new ideals of beauty that are more inclusive to women of every skin color. The side by side photos in your presentation were a riveting way to see how entrenched the ideal of fair/white skin had become instead of accurately representing these women; amazing job displaying this!
I was not familiar with this topic at all before your presentation and was completely engrossed in the details that you shared. I never put two and two together that the beauty standard of fair skin and its association with success fueled the skin-whitening industry in India, and the emerging campaigns including “Dark is Beautiful” are so powerful and amazing to witness. I am so glad that you educated me about this topic and I enjoyed your presentation!
This presentation was so interesting! Seeing how Hinduism affected media and its immense influence on the beauty standards of society was deeply impressive. The use of face whitening creams to appear whiter skinned seems awful, I feel like for me it correlates to racism and the idea that black is not beautiful. I learned so much from this presentation!
I like how unique your topic was, I would have never thought of researching this, but I am glad you did, I learned a lot from it. I had no idea about the prevalence of skin bleaching in India nor how despite how much women have gained dominance in the Bollywood field they are still seen to be dominated by societal standards that are patriarchal.
Its super interesting to see how gender impacts media, and this is no exception. I feel like a lot of these tropes persist today, but it’s good to know that gender equality is being reflected in media worldwide. I also find it super interesting how western beauty ideals have impacted Indian culture regarding the bleaching of skin.
As someone who has not been exposed to any Bollywood media, I found your presentation and blog post really interesting! The ties between Hinduism and media portrayals of desirable women were fascinating, and I found your analysis of beauty standards to be really interesting! Skin bleaching is a scary result of colorism, the prevalence of which has yet to be addressed! All in all, you did great work, Amrita!
It’s not a secret that there is colorism in every single culture we come across, but you don’t really see how bad it is until you’re shown clear ads and actively living it as well. I grew up in a pretty brown neighborhood but whenever I’d see anyone in media, they wouldn’t look like me or any of the people I knew. It’s important to have these conversations as we have grown to know that representation matters more than some people care to admit. Thank you for speaking out on this topic, you did so incredibly well.
As someone who isn’t familiar with Bollywood movies, I didn’t know that there was this emphasis on main actresses having fairer skin and how that affects beauty standards. This emphasis on fairness makes beauty standards much more Westernized and unrealistic to how typical Indian women look.