Not many know that veteran actress Shabana Azmi had let go her insecurities about her dusky skin way back in her early years.

The actress, who was present at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival to pay an ode to her father, noted poet late Kaifi Azmi, confessed lovable tales of her childhood with the audience.

"As a little girl, I, too, was in love with the white dolls which had golden hair and blue twinkling eyes, but my father never got me one. When I was nine years old, he got me a doll with black skin and eyes, and told me that being dusky was okay and being black was indeed beautiful," said Shabana stating that the insecurity over the fair skin was taken care of with the wise words of her father.

She also added that his teachings helped her make the right choices in her career as well, "The values and confidence I was raised with also later reflected in the kind of films I did," she added.