Bengali actress Shruti Das files complaint against online abuse over dusky skin tone, says 'I'm tired of being judged'

Pic courtesy: Instagram/Shruti Das

New Delhi: Bengali actress Shruti Das, popularly known for her role in the show 'Desher Mati', recently filed a police complaint against online abuse over her dusky skin tone which, she claims, has been ongoing since 2019. According to her statement to a leading daily, the barrage of negative comments started rolling in after she bagged roles in Bengali shows. She revealed that she had been name-called her entire life but even after working hard to bag successful TV shows, she is being accused of making 'compromises' for her achievements. 

She told the Times of India, "Name-calling has been a part of my life. Recently someone called me a 'black board' and asked how someone can cast me as a heroine when there are actresses like Payel De and Rooqma Ray in the show. They also accuse me of making 'compromises' to get roles. Some people think I am getting the roles because of my relationship with Swornendu. But none of them is aware that we started seeing each other after 6 months of Trinayani. In that case, how could he recommend me for the lead role."

Das also spoke about how the severity of the abuse has prompted her to take legal action.

She said, "I am tired of being judged for my skin tone. I am a human too. Though I have been thinking about taking legal action since Desher Maati started, I finally made up my mind and filed it yesterday."

Apart from getting trolled on her skin tone, she also faced online abuse from a girl who had a personal vendetta against her. 

She recounted, “I have been abused online for two years and I raised my voice when it was needed. I was shocked to see the comment made by this girl on the official page of the channel. Swornendu (Samaddar) asked me to remember whether I know this girl, since she is also from my native place. I suddenly recalled the girl. She is the sister of my dance student. They used to attend the class and workshops arranged by a theatre group in Katwa."

"When I contacted the girl, she wasn’t ready to speak. Later, I learned that she is holding a personal grudge against me because of a silly incident in which she was scolded by the teacher who used to conduct the classes. With that grudge, she made some offensive comments on the official page of the channel. Later, she apologised in a social media post and deactivated her account too," she added.

Shruti Das made her TV debut with the show 'Trinayani' and is currently starring in 'Desher Mati' as a teacher and the protagonist's wife Noa Bose Mukherjee.