Exclusive - Ulka Gupta reveals turning down a fairness cream endorsement; says 'they promote wrong notions and it impacted my childhood'

Ulka Gupta, who has portrayed some memorable characters on small screen and is best remembered as Manu from Jhansi Ki Rani, has come a long way. Her journey in the industry has not been an easy one, from facing rejections to taking a challenge of working in different mediums, the actress has seen it all. Ulka joined ETimes TV for a quick chat and revealed how her childhood got impacted because of the rejection she faced for her dark skin tone. Ulka shared that she turned down endorsements from a popular fairness brand twice as they promote wrong notions. The actress spills beans about Khatron Ke Khiladi, Banni Chow Home Delivery and bagging TV show Saat Phere not just because of her acting skills but also due to my skin tone.

It is disheartening when a show doesn’t work as you had expected, but then just like life you have to accept it. If you believe in yourself that you are a good actor and you love acting, you will wait for the next opportunity.

I would thank my father because I’ve been a child actor and also seen my dad who is also an actor going through all seasons of this industry and I’ve myself also gone through it. I have been rejected, overnight replaced from projects, all of these things have happened to me. I’ve seen the best and the worst. I’ve also waited and taken breaks during projects. I have waited few years in my career for good roles. I’ve learnt how to wait and how to believe something good is out there for you.

I don’t want to use the term (nepotism), but a lot of people have said to me that it must have been easy for her to bag roles. My dad is also an actor, he goes to auditions and I also go to auditions. You can get a debut till a point but after that, your talent and skill can only take you ahead in life. In my case I never got a debut. I started giving auditions at the age of 7 and did a few projects here and there but I got my break at the age of 11 which was Jhansi Ki Rani. I made sure I was there whenever I got to know about auditions. Kuch mehnat ka Phal mila Mujhe.

Those comments on skin colour that I faced during childhood have remained with me which is why in my power, if I can make a change or inspire even a few people, I would feel I am successful. I want to inspire people who are struggling with the same insecurities that I had once, or the insecurities that were imposed by the society on me, which was not there initially.

I remember there is a skin care brand which is very famous in promoting fairness cream. They got a campaign to me twice and I said no, I am not going to work with you no matter what. You guys have always promoted wrong notions and that had impacted my childhood very much. It has taken me time to come out of it. The industry, fans, projects, films and fans have helped me feel proud about it and embrace it, I want to do this for all the girls. I just want people to understand beauty standards are just a façade, it is just a concept from an over powering thought.

My father has always told me no matter what the society thinks, remember that you are beautiful and you are your own beauty, you are going to inspire your own set of people. When I was giving auditions, my father would motivate me saying, if you are a good actor people will cast you, don’t think about looks. I followed my heart, I did that and I remember, I bagged Saat Phere serial not just because of my acting skills but also due my skin tone. That’s when I felt kahan mere skin tone ke liye reject kiya jaata tha and here I bagged a show because of my dark skin colour. That was a game changer for my life and I felt happy because I was playing a male lead child character. It gave me a lot of boost.

I am really inspired my Kangana Ranaut, Vidya Balan, Anushka Shetty in the south. In the TV industry if I have to choose someone whose career has been very inspiring it would be Rupali Ganguly, Shweta Tiwari, Smriti Irani. I am very inspired by Smriti Irani ma’am, she has entertained India for so many years and then she went on to take care of the nation, by being such an amazing icon.