It's not 'fair' Parul and Vibha on their 'dark' days

Real life for Parul Chauhan one of the lead actors of Sapna babul Ka-Bidaai is quite similar to her reel life. Having faced very 'racist' comments on her dark complexion from her grandmother while growing up, Parul was an unhappy child. As a kid Parul faced colour issues all the time. She says, "When I was born my grandmother remarked that I was very dark. And till my seventh standard she kept commenting on my complexion. But after that everything was fine. She realised that I was as good as any fair girl. She is no more but I am sure if she was alive she would have been very happy with the work I am doing. I think that is one reason why I can relate to Ragini (her character in Bidaai)." Parul also reveals that the same problem is faced by her cousin. She says, "My mama (maternal uncle) has two daughters. One is fair and the other is dark. So the dark cousin always faces the discrimination which I really condemn. They always worry about her marriage. I ask them to see my serial and hope that they will change with time." But it is not just Parul who faces 'complexion' issues. Even Vibha Chibber (who played the coach in Chak de and Parul's mom in Bidaai) also had a similar experience. But hailing from a well-educated family of writers (Vibha's mother and father are writers) she was never looked down upon by others. In fact it was Vibha who was self - critical. Vibha says, "Actually my paternal side is very fair and my mother is dark. So while growing up, since I too was dark I feared wearing certain colours. I always used to doubt whether or not they will suit me. Even my husband Vijay Deepak Chibber is very fair. I still remember when my mother-in-law said that 'Like any other mother-in-law I too wanted a fair daughter-in-law but you are very good-looking'." "My mother-in-law makes it a point to carry my photo wherever she goes. She shows it to everyone bragging about my good looks. I also remember when I was a newly-wed and I used to go for parties with my husband, all his friends used to tease me saying that we are poles apart," adds Vibha. Vibha also feels that it is high time that our society changes its perspective on this issue. "I find it very strange when society differentiates between fair and dark skin. No matter how the male skin is but the female has to be fair. A mother is always worried about her dark daughter's marital prospects. I just find the whole thing very gross. I like the serial Bidaai because it deals with this problem in the best way possible." Life's not 'fair' and we hope everyone gets out of such 'dark' ages.