Jhansi Ki Rani Fame Ulka Gupta Reveals Losing Projects Due To Her Skin Tone

Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin fame Ulka Gupta is unfazed by the beauty standards set by the showbiz world. Though her performances in projects including Simmba and Banni Chow Home Delivery made her a household name, the road to success wasn’t an easy one for the young star. During a recent interview, she opened up about facing categorization and losing projects owing to her skin tone. Manoeuvring through the accepted notion of beauty and braving rejections, Ulka Gupta said she is proud of her dusky skin type.

The actress finds solace in the inspiring stories of successful Bollywood divas like Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone, and Priyanka Chopra, who she considers to be the flag bearers for breaking the beauty stigma. “I want to represent them because we have so many types of people but just 2-3 types of beauty onscreen and in Bollywood,” she told Pinkvilla. Over the years, Ulka recalls losing jobs, “Even after Jhansi Ki Rani and becoming a name, I was still categorised.” She added, “I don’t need society to tell me that you should apply ‘ubtan’.”

Though Ulka has witnessed white-washing reduced on a large scale, she believes there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. The actress cannot fathom the image of “ideal beauty” stuck in people’s minds. On her part, she reveals rejecting multiple fairness cream endorsements. “I have turned down a lot of fairness cream brands, I am just not going to support that. It just irritates me why they still exist,” she continued.

It also saddens Ulka to watch her contemporaries opting for skin-whitening to fit in the bracket of industry standards. “It sort of disappoints me and now I know, at least that’s not what I want to do,” she explained. The actress hopes for people to become more accepting of all skin shades emphasizing the battle also extends to those braving categorization on the basis of body type, height, and weight.

The youngster made her acting debut as a child artist in the historical television show Jhansi Ki Rani and then forayed into the South industry with movies like Andhra Pori and Rudhramadevi her kitty. Currently, Ulka Gupta is the new entrant in Star Plus’ Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin, she plays Savi Chavan the daughter of the main protagonists Sai and Virat.