KOCHI: Krishnapriya Tilakan, a second-year BCom student at St Teresa’s College, Ernakulam, was never bothered by her dusky skin tone until the day she was mocked by a makeup artist while prepping for a dance event. She was a performer at a Malayalam television show being held in Kochi. Known for her monochrome frames on the Instagram page kaaapicccooo, the youngster recently came out with a reel video for the song Parapara from the Dulquer Salman-starrer Kamattipadam. The video has gained over a million views.
For Krishnapriya, who is also a theatre artist, the monochrome pictures are a silent protest against colour-based discrimination. Remembering the make-up artist’s comment from two years ago, Krishnapriya says it left her feeling insulted. “Although I was teased a lot during my school days and my family members for being a ‘karumbi’ and for my dark skin tone, that incident was a little intense.
It was my two best friends, Anusree and Brosini who motivated me to keep my head high and be proud of my skin. That said, even though I was teased by a few for my skin colour, I received a lot of appreciations from others. Colour should never be a parameter for beauty,” she says.
According to Krishnapriya, her choice of monochrome frames was just a coincidence. “I am an aspiring model. I have observed that the criteria for choosing a model or actress are still rampant in the industry. How many dark-skinned actress or models find a good place in movies or commercials, be it Bollywood or Mollywood. Even though we support the international anti-racism movements with hashtags, we don’t lift a finger to make a change in the society we live in,” says Krishnapriya.
The youngster aims to be a lawyer. “Our generation is no stranger to racism and discrimination. The popularity of my reels is an example of that. Many wrote back to me saying it has made them proud of their skin,” she concludes.