India's viral singing sensation Ranu Mondal has had a meteoric rise to fame this year and with it, increased scrutiny, which may explain why her recent makeover has divided opinion online.
The 59-year-old homeless woman-turned-artiste shot to fame with her rendition of singer Lata Mangeshkar's iconic song 'Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai' from the film Shor, which captured the hearts of millions of Indians back in July.
Surprisingly for her fans, at a recent engagement, the rags-to-riches star ditched her simple sarees and no makeup style for a heavy, oddly light foundation which was several skin tones too light for her.
The extreme makeover dramatically lightened her skin to such a degree, that many online considered her unrecognisable and instantly meme worthy.
However, not everyone was so keen to mock the viral songstress.
"Her makeup is brighter than my future," one self-deprecating Twitter user wrote.
Others staunchly defended the starlet, saying people should focus on her singing talent and not her makeup.
In a takedown of wider meme culture and the rush to judge people online, one user made the salient point that it should be the makeup artist, and not Mondal, to blame for the unfortunate makeover.
“Not everything is a meme material,” they added.
The singer also hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons last week when she denied a selfie to a fan.
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