Sayani Gupta: Would stand out with my skin tone in Article 15

Sayani Gupta

On a drive while on her way to shoot Four More Shots in South Bombay, Sayani Gupta indulges us in a chat, primarily discussing her upcoming film Article 15. "Anubhav Sinha is very conscientious. I watched Mulk a while after I started working with him and it had such power. He had seen JollyLLB 2 and liked my work. Article 15 is an investigative story with such well etched out characters. I have a specific voice in the film. It's a beautifully written script. This is a story I would die to tell. Anubhav had his doubts when he saw me in the glam look of Four More Shots. There was a hoarding of mine outside his office. This film helped me tap into an unexplored side. It's a commentary on social fabric of the country. The film takes on casteism, talks about equality in society and there is a specific story to it. It's a detective story. The undercurrent of the plot is casteism"

After the trailer of this film came out, Gupta's look has been discussed on Twitter specifically. Makers have been criticised for the extra shade of brown added to her look, while a section have raved about her de-glam look. The talk about Bollywood zealously using a brown tint on its actors is widely discussed on Twitter ever since the launch of Super 30's trailer. A meme of Hrithik, Alia Bhatt from Udta Punjab and Ranveer Singh from Gully Boy is circulating on the net as well.

Understandably, she can't look peachy but would it not suffice to go without make up instead of the brown skin tone which is way different from regular skin color. Quiz her and she reasons, "I have to look authentic and stay true to their character. The way this film is created and my look specifically, in villages I had to look like one of them. When your shade matches theirs, it looks real. They don't have sunscreen and the sun is blazing hot in areas where this film is shot. These women are not at home. They have brownish frizzy hair and their skin is burnt. It is a call taken consciously, and it blended in the narrative. This darkness is different from being born with that shade. It's acquired from clocking in more outdoor hours. I had to lose myself in the crowd and these are people from there. With my current skin tone, I would stand out. I will cite an example. I had auditioned for Newton for Anjali Patil's part and she is gorgeous. She eventually bagged it because the makers categorically felt it because she looks closer to people of the area where the film was shot. They needed someone with a duskier complexion. And it's not fair to say it doesn't matter because if you are making a real film, you'd want to maintain as close to reality."

Also Read: Sayani Gupta gets into the skin of her character for Article 15

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