Priyanka Chopra recalls doing fairness cream ad, being made to look lighter in films: 'We were taught that bulls**t'

Priyanka Chopra has come a long way since she first came to the limelight upon winning the Miss India and Miss World crowns as an 18-year-old back in 2000. The actress recently spoke about her early years in the entertainment industry after her Bollywood debut and how she was made to believe that looking fairer on screen was required for leading ladies.

Priyanka made her film debut with Hero: Love Story of a Spy back in 2002 and went on to appear in several Bollywood hits over the next decade and a half. At the peak of her career, she also endorsed a fairness cream brand.

Speaking with Dax Shephard on his podcast Armchair Expert, Priyanka recalled her initial years in the entertainment industry. “When I joined the movie business, if you were fair, you were guaranteed some sort of success or casting, but if you were darker... and I'm not even that dark. For darker girls, it was like, well, let's lighten you up. I was lightened up in many movies,” Priyanka said.

The actress said that even she got indoctrinated into it and did fairness cream ads, something she now won’t do. She added, “We were taught that damaging bulls**t. Even I got caught up into it and I look back on that, the commercial was so damaging. I'm darker skinned and this guy comes in, selling flowers, and he doesn't even look at me. I start using this cream and I get a job, I get the guy and all my dreams come true. That was like the mid-2000s.”

Priyanka will be next seen in Russo Brothers’ Citadel, a sci-fi web series that also stars Richard Madden. It will be releasing on Prime Video on April 28. She will also be seen in rom com Love Again, which will be releasing later this year.