At a time when Hollywood is making strides as far as inclusion of actors of colour goes, it is nothing short of appalling when racism and stereotyping is passed off for humour in India. Recently, a troll video calling out the racism in a scene in the web series Little Things, in which the lead characters are seen typecasting actor Dhanush for his skin tone, went viral. In the scene, the lead pair’s friends compare them to actors Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor from Raanjhanaa, tacitly referring to the complexion difference between them, as well as their looks, in what was supposed to be humour.

Calling for an end to racism, the troll page also highlighted Dhanush’s achievements, which was amplified by several south actors. “There is a fine line between humour and being incorrect and wrong,” they stated. Soon enough, netizens joined in to discuss the repercussions of the engrained stereotyping of south Indian actors in content from other belts.

“We are living in times when we need to be mindful and sensitive while writing stories or dialogues. We, Indians, are the first to stand up against racism outside the country, but often fail to recognise what is happening here. We need to call out such scenes and discuss the need for writing sensitively more often,” says former actor-politico Ramya, who has worked with Dhanush in a Tamil film.

Dhanush’s VIP co-star, Amitash Pradhan, says, “This ‘silly joke’ is distasteful. I’ve noticed a pattern in Hindi cinema when it comes to portraying the south. I am a huge Rajinikanth fan and have never heard him say, ‘Yenna Rascala’ in any of his films. When we portray a Hindi-speaking guy in our movies, do we make him say, ‘Arey kya yaar?’ every few minutes? No, right? We need to be sensitive to things and write better.”

Making fun of someone for the way they look is one of the most insensitive ways of expressing oneself. Why should we be made to feel lesser for our skin tones, when we actually should be feeling proud of it? Earlier, there used to be that pressure to cast fair-skinned actors in the lead, owing to which many talented people lost out on good roles. But with the new crop of filmmakers, that has changed. It’s refreshing to see actors with more ‘native’ skin tones playing important roles and that’s how it should be. The inclusion should start from the south. You can’t ask a Hindi filmmaker to change when you yourself are making fun of skin tones. When you want to write a love song, you invariably end up praising the heroine’s skin colour. Such songs are there even in my films and I regret that. When there is proper representation on screen, there won’t be any misrepresentation.

Although south stars have been increasingly crossing over into Bollywood, every time that happens, there are trolls/memes about it. In recent times, actress Priyamani has been among the few South Indian actors who appears to have seamlessly transitioned to working in Hindi content, too. Priya tells us, “There’s nothing funny about the scene. Irrespective of what people say, by ‘making fun of him in whatever way’, Dhanush’s work is speaking volumes and that makes us all proud to be his fans!”

Pranitha Subhash, who’s been making inroads in Bollywood, after a successful stint in most south film industries, adds, “There are two sides to this dialogue. On one side, south Indians have been stereotyped as Madrasis and our accents and lifestyles have been mocked in the name of comedy. On the other hand, more North Indians are liking south Indian films and people like Prabhas are accepted as stars. In my previous Hindi film, Priyadarshan sir had an almost south Indian crew and we shot in Ooty, so it was like I shot for a film down south. Things are changing, but these stereotypes need to be broken sooner,” says Pranitha.

(With inputs by Sharanya CR and Lakshmi V)