Bala film director and producer address the Bhumi Pednekar make up controversy

Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Bala is currently creating wonders at the box office. The comedy film with a message of self-love has earned over ₹70 crores in a week. Though the film is evidently on its way to becoming one of the most successful films of 2019, it was also surrounded by various controversies. The first big controversy Bala faced was having striking similarities to another film titled Ujda Chaman, which dealt with the same topic as Ayushmann's film. The second controversy was Bhumi Pednekar's character in the film. Bhumi was turned many shades darker through makeup to play the character of a dark-skinned lawyer. 

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Director and producer of Bala speak up 

Netizens were quick to point out that Bhumi's look in the film is odd and disrespectful. Her character's name is Latika who has struggled all her life for being dark-skinned. The film talks about the obsession with fair skin in India too. Fans liked her character calling her strong and fierce, but they reportedly had issues with Bhumi Pednekar playing the character. As Bhumi is fair-skinned in real life, the creative choice of casting Bhumi Pednekar was criticised by fans. 

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Recently while speaking to a news daily, Producer Dinesh Vijan and Director Amar Kaushik addressed people's criticism of Bhumi Pednekar's casting. Dinesh Vijan stated that he understands it is a sensitive topic. But, the colour of the skin was not the only aspect why Bhumi Pednekar was cast in the film. He also stated that the character is of an individual and strong person, which matches the outlook of Bhumi's life. Also, he asked the question that why isn't anyone asking him if he should have cast a bald actor for Bala. 

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Director Amar Kaushik also shared his views about this situation. He stated that the character is based upon a real-life person. He added that it was clear after talking to Bhumi that she can essay the role of Latika. He also stated that if he would have cast a dark-skinned actor for the role, people could have criticized him by calling it stereotyping. 

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