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Ulka Gupta makes shocking revelations about racism in the TV industry
Speaking to a news portal, Ulka Gupta from Zee TV's famous historical drama Jhansi KI Rani revealed some shocking details about facing racism in the TV industry.
Ulka Gupta aka Manu as we fondly remember her from Zee TV’s Jhansi KI Rani started off young in the showbiz and made her TV debut at the age of seven with Resham Dankh.
While the opportunity came in early, the now 19-year-old actress recently opened up about her share of unpleasant experiences she had to face at a tender age because of her dark skin.
Speaking to a news portal, Ulka opened up about the predominant obsession of the glamour industry with fair skin and said, “I was very passionate about acting but surprisingly at the very young age, I came across the dark side of our industry. After wrapping up Resham Dankh, my father and I used to go for the auditions on a daily basis. And every time, I was disappointed to see that the producers are looking for a fair girl.”
“According to them, fair girl represents an up market girl. I was rejected so many times just for the sake of my dark skin. In fact, due to my complexion, I got a role of Saloni’s daughter in Saat Phere. Since, that show focused on the girl’s courage beyond her dark complexion; the casting directors finalized me. Otherwise, I was rejected most of the time. Surprisingly, after so many years, my casting agent still gets few requirements stating, ‘need a fair complexion girl’. Honestly, I have stopped going for such auditions. Fair hone se koi upmarket nahi dikhta. I want my talent to speak up for me and not the color of my skin,” she added
Ulka who made her big screen debut with a Telugu film Rudhramadevi in 2015 also talked up about the depression she was suffering from at the time of filming Khelti Hai Zindagi Aankh Micholi and recalled, “Can you believe that; at the age of 15, I was termed as tantrum queen? At the age of playing and enjoying work, I was surrounded by controversies and politics. While doing KHZAM, I was depressed. I was blamed as unprofessional towards my work which was totally false. Trust me; these negative reports did affect my health. I believe that at my growing age, I shouldn’t have been exposed to all these negativity. This was the reason; I did not take up any daily soap henceforth. I wanted to grow up in a normal atmosphere. My whole concentration is on the big screen now.”
