We all know Amna Ilyas very well, from being a good actor to being a good model; she never fails to amaze us. Recently, she appeared for an interview with BBC Urdu where she spoke up about her struggle for acceptance as a dark-skinned in the media industry.
In an interview with BBC Urdu, the actor Amna Ilyas revealed:
“When I did lawn campaigns, for instance, the makeup artists would make me two tones lighter because the client would tell them to make me fairer. Then, they would Photoshop and airbrush the pictures. Sometimes, I’d see the final pictures and think, ‘That’s not me.’”
While sharing her experience of working in drama serials, she spoke:
“In the drama serials I worked on, I would often overhear directors on set say my skin tone doesn’t ‘match’ with the other actors in the frame. I found that very strange; of course, they don’t match, because there are different people, each with their own personalities and skin. How can they ‘match’?”
Talking about the remarks of relatives, she added:
“When I was growing up, my aunts and cousins would always make snide comments that, ‘Oh, she’s got a tan because she goes to school. You should use lemon juice and gram flour on your face for a “glow” and “beautiful” skin. People don’t realize how sensitive this is and what kind of impact it can leave on someone’s mind.”
Speaking about a fairness cream ad, she said:
“There was a time when I was also using fairness creams. Then, I realized — that’s not okay. You should have healthy skin instead. I did a fairness cream ad, and while I was doing that ad, I realized that this not me. After that, I decided I wouldn’t be a part of anything that made me uncomfortable or sell a lie.”
Moreover, she told:
“There’s a standard of beauty that our society has set which it considers the only way to be beautiful — large, almond eyes, dark, waist-length hair, milky white skin.
While concluding:
“The top five TV heroines are extremely fair-skinned — and those who weren’t [fair to begin with] have made themselves fairer to be a part of that race. I want those girls with my complexion, who are considered ‘too thin’ or ‘too dark’, shouldn’t consider themselves ugly.”
Check out her interview below!
آمنہ الیاس: ’بیٹا جیسا بھی ہو، ماؤں کو بہو گوری چٹّی سفید چاہیے‘
تیکھے نین نقش والی آمنہ الیاس کا شمار آج کل پاکستان کی کامیاب ترین ماڈلز اور اداکاراؤں میں ہوتا ہے۔ لیکن کیا آپ یقین کر سکتے ہیں کہ ایک وقت ایسا بھی تھا جب آمنہ اپنے آپ کو ’بدصورت‘ تصّور کرتی تھیں؟ دیکھیے آمنہ کی ہمارے ساتھی کریم الاسلام سے گفتگو اس ڈجیٹل ویڈیو میں۔
Posted by BBC URDU on Thursday, November 7, 2019
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