Sonali Kulkarni was ‘humiliated’ in first audition: ‘Dark-skinned girls don’t look good’

Actress Sonali Kulkarni has spoken about the colorism she faced at the very beginning of her career, recalling a moment from her first film audition in Pune. During the audition, a woman approached her and made a derogatory comment about her appearance, stating that "dark-skinned girls don’t look good on camera." This comment, made to a teenager who arrived wearing the only good outfit she owned, deeply wounded Sonali, who was already insecure about her appearance and her place in a family where she compared herself to her brothers.

Despite the humiliation, Sonali did not leave the audition; instead, she spent time afterward managing the situation to avoid further discomfort for the woman who had insulted her. It wasn't until years later that she was able to openly discuss her experience and realize that it was not just the cruelty of the comment, but how she handled the aftermath that affected her.

Since then, she has come to believe that everyone is born beautiful and that it's important to accept and love oneself. Recently, Sonali was seen in the Nani-starrer film Paradise.