Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin criticises other stars for promoting 'fairness creams'

Kalki Koechlin has become a Bollywood pioneer thanks to her unconventional roles and outspoken public presence

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan promoting beauty company Fair and Handsome's skin lightening product (Fair and Handsome)

Bollywood star Kalki Koechlin has spoken out about India's promotion of skin lightening creams, which utilise active ingredients to reduce melanin levels.

Taking to Reddit for an AMA session honouring International Women's Day, Koechlin criticised the cultural beauty standards which drive major Bollywood stars to promote the fairness creams.

"I don't think there is anything wrong with being fair," Koecklin wrote. "But when an entire nation basis its idea of beauty on being fair it's sad, because there are such beautiful people who are dusky, or of a different skin tone."

In 2014, Morgan Stanley reported that nearly half of all Indian consumers sought creams with the ability to lighten skin tone; with major companies, including Garnier and L'Oréal, promoting fairness creams with the endorsement of stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and Sonam Kapoor.

"I endorse an anti-ageing cream because I do feel I have to take better care of my skin with age," Koechlin continued. "But I am clear that fairness is not something I promote with them. In fact, I would love to endorse a cream which makes me darker, I am always trying to get a tan!"

Of French descent, Koechlin also divulged her own struggles when it comes to her ethnicity. "'Go back to your country', 'loose moral girl' etc," were some of the reactions described. "If only they knew i was born in Perriamudaliachavadi!"

Koechlin has established herself as somewhat of a Bollywood pioneer; taking on unconventional cinematic roles, as well as becoming a vocal campaigner on issues as wide-ranging as freedom of speech and disability visibility.

She's also taken full advantage of her active web presence; from her Twitter account boasting 691K followers, to numerous viral videos satirising victim blaming in sexual assault and the use of sensationalist tactics in the press.

"I think the problem of rape is a worldwide phenomenon," she wrote. "I think it has to do with power, and asserting power over women, because of sexual frustration or class divides. The way to change this is educating people about gender equality, getting boys and girls to study together, with equal opportunity from a young age."

She also tackled the issue of equal pay in Bollywood, a hot-button topic equal to the conversation happening in Hollywood. "Equal pay won’t happen because there is a hero-based industry," she wrote. "Only when women are pulling in people to the cinemas in leading roles like Deepika [Padukone] in Piku, and only when this is no longer the exception but the norm, can we expect equal pay. So we need to strive for scripts that empower women, make women our heroes, too."