The benefits of having a dark complexion Sunita Marshall,
Accusations of colourism have been common in Pakistani entertainment, and celebrities like Amna Ilyas and Gohar Rasheed have repeatedly condemned it. Others, like seasoned performer Saba Hamid, could not only imagine being discriminated against because of skin colour, but they also did not experience colourism.
Actress-model Sunita Marshall seems to have had minimal trouble in the business due to her dusky complexion. In an interview with a local talk program, Sunita stated that she was never subjected to colourism while modelling. Her complexion was actually praised by the modelling profession for both technical and aesthetic grounds.
“I’ve never encountered a significant issue. In reality, my only benefit has been in the modelling field’, Sunita Marshall reaffirmed. “I’ve even done shoots where they’ve darkened my complexion by a few shades.”
As Sunita Marshall mentioned the vivid yellow she wore for the interview, the actor clarified that this was done in part due to the team’s desire and in part because “certain colours pop more over dark skin,” The Baby Baji actor Sunita Marshall reminisced about her time as a model, recalling that she and other artists with her skin tone were frequently assigned bright hues to wear.
The modelling and television industries in Pakistan have come under fire in recent years for promoting prejudiced ideals of beauty. Opposition to darkening the complexion of fair or medium-skinned models rather than hiring more diverse applicants has been as vocal.
Although Sunita’s modelling attempts have been successful due to her skin tone, navigating the small screen has proven to be a little more difficult.
“On TV, though, it has happened a few times,” she said. “The problem is, if my dusky complexion is shown in the same frame as that of someone who is very fair, it throws the contrast and brightness off balance.”
Sunita went on to explain that adjusting the brightness to “balance” her skin tone with the photo tends to over-expose her co-star’s complexion, while lowering it darkens her skin tone. “So this was a difficulty that some cameramen—not all, only some—faced,” Sunita Marshall continued. According to the actor, those cameramen suggested applying makeup to level the frame and even out their disparate skin tones.
Sunita last appeared in the Baby Baji sequel, when she played Asma again. She entered the field in 2002, and her career has spanned more than 20 years.
