While Bollywood claims to love its dusky beauties, they still have to 'lighten' their kin tones every now and then to ensure that they get their share of endorsements. Nandita Das, who has won much acclaim for her performances, admits that she too has been asked to lighten her color to suit her character. And she says that the demand to be 'fair' becomes almost mandatory if an actress is playing a woman from the higher strata of society. She says, "It's absolutely true. I have been told that to play a particular character I will have to look fair so that I suit the character."

The actress feels that the emphasis on being fair is a scary. "It makes people lose their confidence and self esteem. They think that they are just not good enough. And how do you blame them?All images - whether it's television, hoarding, air hostesses in airlines, receptionists in offices - everywhere the demand for fair girls or women is much more. And what do you do in a country where 95 per cent of the population is dark? You are telling all of us that we are just not good enough. It's a cause to think about and is worrying."