- Dibyendu Bhattacharya faced racism when replaced from an ad due to his dark skin
- He said skin color bias in the industry is deeply rooted and systemic
- Bhattacharya stressed the need for social ethics education from primary school
Dibyendu Bhattacharya has carved a niche with some versatile roles on the big screen and OTT space. As his series Undekhi Season 4 released recently, the actor opened up about facing racism in the film industry. He highlighted how prejudiced people still are based on skin colour.
What's Happening
- Dibyendu Bhattacharya recalled a personal experience where he was replaced from an advertisement just days before because they did not want a "kaala actor".
- The actor told Bollywood Bubble, "This is an issue and it is very rooted. Just a few days ago, I got cast for an advertisement and for 4-5 days discussions went on and just three days later, the shoot was supposed to happen. So I asked them, are we doing the shoot or not? They said, 'Nahi Dada, aapko replace kiya kyunki aap kaale ho aur kaala actor nahi chahiye.'"
- He continued, "It's very unfortunate par aap kuch nahi kar sakte ho. Jab aapki buniyaad hi, primary education mein aap social ethics, norms introduce nahi karoge toh aap yeh nahi kar sakte (But you can't really do much. If you don't introduce social ethics and norms at the very foundation, during primary education, then this can't be achieved)."
- Dibyendu Bhattacharya further explained how those exact words used by the advertisement makers did not bother him personally. Rather, it shed light on a more pertinent issue embedded in the system where someone's skin tone leads to unfair biases.
Work
On the work front, Dibyendu Bhattacharya was recently seen in Undekhi Season 4, which also stars Harsh Chhaya, Surya Sharma, Ankur Rathee and Gautam Rode in key roles. The series released on SonyLIV on May 1. Dibyendu Bhattacharya plays the role of DSP Barun Ghosh in the show.
Some of his projects that brought him critical acclaim were Black Friday, Criminal Justice and Maharani. He was also noticed in Dev.D, Jamtara and Rocket Boys.
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