‘Dark Is Beautiful’ : Dusky Damsels Of South Indian Cinema

KS Reddy

They’ve come in various hues down the ages — peaches-and cream, pale, wheatish, dark; think Nayanthara or Amala Paul , Shriya or Kajal but sitting in the cinema, you wouldn’t have known the difference.

Call it the grace of lighting or make-up, the default skin tone for Tollywood’s damsels and heroes has always tended towards the fair at least on screen. But a clutch of actors are now breaking free of the shackles to show that dusky is beautiful.

Let’s take a look at those dusky damsels

Nayantara