In general, when people describe brown-skinned individuals, they say, “Karupa irundhaalum kalai ah iruka, dark but beautiful, etc.” Sowmya points out how even Rajinikanth had to face this. “A lot has been made about his colour. In ‘Thillana Thillana’ a song from Muthu (1995), for instance, there are lines that go like, “When there are so many white men, why did you accept me? (Sivappaana aangal ingae sila kodi undu. Karuppaana ennai kandu kan vaithadhenna?)”. So, it’s not like he was just accepted for his skin tone and we’re not going to comment about it. It was made like a thing: Though he is dark, he is a hero. That ‘Though’ itself is problematic.”
The Chicken and Egg Conundrum
We all can collectively agree that there is a dearth of strong roles written for women that give them the scope to perform. Kavitha says, “In most films, heroines are only expected to dress up, appear in a few scenes, dance and go away. We don’t have a lot of roles written for women. It has changed a bit in the last ten years because of the new crop of directors like Ranjith. That wasn’t the case ten years back. It doesn’t do justice as no actress would want to just change four clothes and dance around the trees.”
Earlier, heroines did have many strong roles written for them. But most of those stories were also romantic comedies and family dramas. In the past decade or so, romcoms have become a rarity in mainstream Tamil cinema. Even in other commercial action entertainers, the love track is often sidelined. Sowmya says, “When it became about North Indian, Hindi-speaking women coming to Tamil Nadu, the role itself began to shrink because they didn’t know the local language. I think in Tamil cinema, the women’s role itself has become so decorative that they want someone who looks decorative. When they finally have a part where they need a good actor, they don’t have enough well-known women to do that role. In a multi-starrer like Ponniyin Selvan, if Mani Ratnam wanted to rope in a Tamil-speaking woman who also has a star value, who is there? I guess it has now become like a chicken and egg problem.”
Is Colourism On Its Way Out?
We were all once stuck to the image of “white skin is beautiful” and we never questioned anything, Sarjun reminds. But that’s not the case today. The backlash to a brand like “Fair and Lovely” is proof. “Things are slowly changing and I think we need to give that space for it to change. When you and I don’t have to do an interview again in 10-15 years in time, it means the change has happened.” Halitha is hopeful, too. “If we were speaking a few years back, I would’ve been so frustrated, because we only had fair-skinned actresses back then. Now, a lot has changed. This gives us hope that things will get even better.”