Krystle Dsouza was recently seen in JioCinema’s Visfot.
Krystle Dsouza recalls why makers told her to change her green eye colour and wear brown lenses. She adds receiving a lot of ‘free advice’ in the beginning.
Showbiz and unrealistic beauty standards go hand-in-hand. Over the years, many actors have succumbed to vanity. While others have openly voiced out their experiences of being body shamed and colour shamed. The latest to join the list is Krystle Dsouza. In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, she reveals that at the beginning of her career, she was called out for her skin tone and was even given a bizarre trick to look better.
Talking about it, she says, “People gave me a lot of free advice in the past and they still do. I’ve also been called dusky. I remember receiving this advice that I should wash myself with milk so that my skin looks fair. I kept thinking to myself that I’m allergic to milk, toh uska kya? I didn’t want to be gora. I’m an Indian. I’m very, very desi and I love my skin colour. Why should I become fair?”
And it’s not just limited to her complexion. Krystle has also been told to change her eye colour that led her to wear contact lens for a major part of her career. “My eyes are green. From 2008-2009 to 2019 when I did Fittrat, I wore brown lenses every day of my life because they said I won’t look like a positive character if my eyes are green. I don’t know why but I believed them and put on dark brown lenses for almost ten years,” she recalls.
In her words, today she knows how to give it back to those shaming her for how she looks. And she attributes it to an episode from the sets of Fittrat. “People who knew me knew that I had green eyes but others, who saw me on stage or onscreen, thought my eye colour was naturally brown. If anyone tells me anything like this today, I’ll never believe or give in to them because now I know that you can see the honesty in people when you look into their eyes. During Fittrat, my director said to me, ‘Nothing doing! Throw those lenses out. I love your eyes’,” she says.
While Krystle acknowledges that being in the limelight means a lot of scrutiny, she has now developed a thick skin and has embraced herself for who she is. “You’re under a lot of scrutiny as an actor in terms of the way you look and carry yourself. The things you say can be blown out of proportion. But it’s okay. I don’t take myself so seriously. Itna toh chalta hai. Where will you take all of this? Jaana toh sabko upar hi hai,” she remarks.
And that’s why she wasn’t bothered about putting on a few kilos for her role in her latest release, Visfot. “My role in it is that of a sweet girl next-door. So, I didn’t have to look like my fittest best. I wanted to look as real as possible. I was okay with my arms flabbing. I thought it was cute (laughs). I was eating cupcakes and was unbothered,” Krystle shares.
