MUMBAI: Actress Shweta Basu Prasad feels skin colour has nothing to do with beauty but says India is hung up on the idea of fairness.

"India is hung up on fairness because we have had white people ruling us for years, and maybe we think that those who are fair are ‘superior'," Shweta said.

"I certainly don't think skin colour has anything to do with beauty and it is sad to read matrimonial ads where the girl's skin colour is considered far more important than her academic abilities or cultural values. Fairness beauty creams must be banned," she added.

Talking about her definition of beauty, she said: "My definition of beauty is beyond what is physical. Beauty is what is within. What you are as a person is more important than all extended nails or eyebrows or the makeup. Everybody around me is beautiful for me because I have more beautiful people in my life than those who simply look beautiful."

On the work front, the actress was seen in Zee Theatre's teleplay "Gudiya Ki Shaadi", which takes a light-hearted jab at the standards of beauty set by society, especially with regards to women. She essayed the role of Gudiya, a confident girl who is proud of her skin colour.

The teleplay also stars Virendra Saxena, Samta Sagar, Ishtiyaq Khan, Saroj Sharma, Neha Saraf, Vikram Kochhar, Anveshi Jain.

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