'Charcoal grey is not even a real shade!': Watch this comedian lampoon fairness cream advertisements

Criticism of skin-whitening cream products and advertisements are almost as old as the products themselves. But the beauty industry never seems to see the ugliness of it all.

The larger problem is the continued lack of acceptance of dark skin among many people, and a cultural belief that fairness is equally related to good looks and eligibility for better jobs and marriage.

One way of fighting this, perhaps, is to laugh at it. And so, in this routine (video above) stand-up comic Karunesh Talwar pokes fun at the way the female protagonist has to undergo insults from almost everyone.

Talwar is not the only one to use laughter to point out the absurdities of the fairness industry. Here are some others.