Fair And Lovely Should Present Indian News

Are our news anchors attempting to be really fair even if the news is not? The dark reality.

WrittenBy:Abhinandan Sekhri
Date:
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The importance of women’s empowerment, aspiration, ambition, skin tone and fairness is back in the news because of a show called Everest sponsored by Fair and Lovely and more importantly this review of it by Rajyasree Sen.

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So I figured I might as well spit out something that’s been keeping me up at night since Narendra Modi’s much-celebrated USA visit and the Madison Square Garden event. While Rajdeep Sardesai may have hogged the limelight by giving us a blow-by-blow account of the MSG concert from the footpath outside the stadium, it was the other luminaries of journalism who caught my eye from the comfort of their studios. Arnab Goswami and Barkha Dutt among others.

We have all been told that the camera adds 5 pounds, right? But what you didn’t know (even I didn’t) was that it also made you 5 shades fairer, or at least it does if you’re anchoring out of Indian news studios.

Don’t believe me? See for yourself. The nation wants to know what colour Arnab really is.

Anchoring from studio in USA.

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Anchoring from studio in India.

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Barkha anchoring from studio in USA.

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Barkha anchoring from studio in India.

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These images above have not been touched up and are straight grabs from the shows online.

Now, to be fair, these two shinning stars aren’t the only ones who have dazzled me with their dramatic colour change when they enter home studios. It happens with almost all the leading lights of  TV news who I have had the privilege of seeing in person, and then when I see them on TV, in their studios, their radiance makes me wonder; forget Everest, why doesn’t Fair and Lovely sponsor news shows, because the results are way more dramatic and immediate.

Is it intended or is it some TV studio compulsion? Do all of us really have this need to look fair? I’m no expert, so I figured I’d ask some professionals from the field of studio lighting to enlighten us. Could it be that the most empowered and emancipated bright sparks among us want to look fair because you know…

It’s not about races, just places, faces
Where your blood comes from
Is where your space is
I’ve seen the light get duller
I’m not going to spend
My life being a colour

Now I believe in miracles, and a miraclehas happened tonight

But, if you’re thinkin’ about my baby
It don’t matter if you’re
Black or white

…. And the whole Michael Jackson thing.

So, I got the following answers.

“American studios are optimised to lighting Caucasian skin which is very fair already, so they don’t need as many lights, and when brown skin walas sit there they look darker.” But then America also has African American anchors. Besides,we also see this dramatic difference when our bright sparks report from outdoor locations.

“Indian studios compete to look glossy and bright and slick so many lights are used to make that happen. The anchor is collateral damage because just as many lights have to be blasted on his/her face to compensate for the bright background, making them look much fairer than they are.” Sounds plausible. But it’s not the glossiness of the studio that makes us watch the news – it’s Subramanian Swamy, Sanjay Jha, Vinod Mehta and Arnab Goswami.

“It’s the makeup. They really thopo the pancake. And everyone uses a base that is a shade fairer, never a shade darker.” Ok. But why? Why not use a base a shade darker when the studio lights will blast you into Scandinavia on the whiteness scale?

So, as you can see, I got no firm answers and am still in the dark here. But next time you trash Indian TV news, remember, even if the news is not always fair, at least their presenters are – when in Indian TV studios.

And friends in news studios, I don’t mean this as criticism or even critique. More like thinking aloud, so please don’t be offended and lighten up… by adding three more LED lights on your face.

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