As the drama serial Habs makes waves, people are notice the works of Janice Tessa AKA Zoya from the drama serial. However, the actress recently opened up about battling colorism in the industry.
Ushna Shah and Feroze Khan’s drama serial, Habs, has been making headlines, as the lead actors’ onscreen chemistry has audiences captivated. Additionally, the show propelled Tessa Janice into the spotlight.
Aside from her acting skills, the emerging actress has caught everyone’s attention with her strong stance against colorism in the biz. In a recent interview with Fuschia Magazine, she shared how she was always bullied for her dark complexion as far back as school time.
Responding to the question as to whether her skin color led to issues in the industry, she spilled the tea saying;
“Some issues? Way too many! … I’m being bullied since my school. There were some people, I wouldn’t name them, but if you want to bag a lead role [in a project], you have to have fair skin. It wasn’t just one person who said this to me, there were so many people who had the same reason.”
Additionally, this prejudice continues even on the audience side based on the comments on episodes of Habs available on YouTube.
“People are crazy, man, … I’m not acting well, I don’t have better dialogue delivery. You have every right to criticise, I will try and improve myself. But if you are saying, ‘Oh, remove this ‘kaali’ from the scene, I don’t like this ‘kaali’, why have you cast this ‘kaali’?’ People have labelled me as ‘kaali’.”
She added how she would prefer creative input on her acting skills rather than pointless critique on her skin-tone
“It’s just a character. Some might like it, some might not. The difference of opinion is completely fine. But you are being personal right there.”
While Janice Tessa affirms that she is a strong person and she is also human and such comments break her heart.
“I’m generally not bothered. But we’re all human. We’re bound to have a breaking point. However, I still never let myself be demotivated. Because I have also received an ample amount of love from the same audience. I would rather look at the support, rather than the hate.”
