3 min readHyderabadUpdated: Feb 11, 2026 09:18 PM IST
In a candid revelation that sheds light on the deep-seated anxieties around skin tone in Indian cinema, actress Radhika Sarathkumar recently recounted an incident from her early days in the movie business that speaks volumes about the pressures actors, particularly women, faced in films.
The moment occurred during the filming of a scene with actor Kamal Haasan, requiring Radhika to embrace him from behind. Director Vishwanath, sensing something amiss, stopped the shot. “He asked, ‘Y’all don’t like each other?’” Radhika recalled. “I was like, ‘No sir, nothing,’ and for him [Kamal], he was taken aback.” she recounted in an interview with Galatta Plus. The director persisted, “I find some discomfort between both of you.” What happened next has become a story Kamal Haasan still reminds her of to this day. “Suddenly he looked at [Kamal], took perfume and sprayed it all over him,” Radhika said, assuming the issue was one of fragrance or hygiene. But perfume wasn’t the problem.
The real source of Radhika’s hesitation was far more telling of the era’s beauty standards. “I told Kamal Haasan that you are too fair and my hands are two shades darker than my face,” she explained. “When he hugged me, I could see it was looking so bad.”
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Kamal Haasan’s response? He laughed it off, dismissing it as “not even a matter of concern.” Yet, the incident has lingered. “Even today when he sees me, he’ll say, ‘Oh, she is so fixated on the complexion,’” Radhika shared.
The anecdote reveals more than just one actress’s insecurity, it exposes the rigid colorism that has long plagued Indian cinema, where fair skin has been equated with beauty, success, and desirability. For Radhika, these concerns weren’t unfounded anxieties but reflections of an industry reality.
She went on to address a particular phase in her career when “fair heroines came” into the industry. “That was the time when I was getting comfortable in my own skin. We were all like… but they can’t do what we are doing,” she noted, alluding to a tension between the celebration of fairer skin tones and the versatility and skill of established actresses who didn’t fit that narrow definition of beauty.
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