Priyanka Chopra recently spoke about the normalisation of colourism in Bollywood and how fairness cream commercials can be “damaging.”

Speaking with Dax Shepherd on his podcast Armchair Expert, Priyanka opened up about her experiences in the industry. 

“I remember when I joined movies, I was considered dusky, written as the dusky actress and I was like ‘What is dusky? What does it mean?’. Yet, I did a commercial (for fairness cream) because you are doing a beauty brand. A beauty brand is a really big part of an actress’ trajectory. And all the beauty brands were selling those creams,” she said.

Talking about the commercial in detail, Priyanka said, “It was so damaging. I am darker skinned girl and this guy comes in and I’m selling flowers and he comes in and he doesn’t even look at me. I start using this cream and I get a job, I get the guy, all my dreams come true and it was like mid-2000s.”

The actor also spoke about being “lightened up” for roles. “I was lightened up in many movies. Through make-up and then blasting lighting,” she said and recalled a song from a film titled Kismat where she was cast to play a girl who is “as white as milk”. “There was a song which I still remember. It was called ‘Chitti dudh kudi’ which means a girl who is as white as milk and I ain’t that but I was playing her and I was really lightened up in the movie,” she added.

In the same podcast, Priyanka also spoke about being “cornered in Bollywood” because she had “beef with some people.”

On the work front, the actor will be seen next in the series Citadel and the film Love Again.