Ranu Mondal became an internet sensation overnight when a video of her singing went viral. She gained thousands of fans within hours for her beautiful voice crooning “Ek Pyaar Ka Nagma Hai”. Ever since, she has appeared on a number of reality shows and events.
Things have, however, taken a drastic turn since. Photos of Ranu surfaced on the internet where she is “caked” in make-up. Attending an event, Ranu looked very different from her usual attire, and was wearing a lot of foundation which was significantly lighter than her skin tone. Trolls rushed to pin her down, with mean, insensitive memes flooding the webspace.
And some more:
And while it is true that we must not take everything seriously, we did go overboard with this trolling. First, we must ask ourselves. Just because the internet was responsible for her rising to fame - which also, honestly, is questionable because her fame wasn’t unwarranted; her voice truly is beautiful - does that however mean that she becomes a caricature to be judged for every choice she makes for her new life?
Our privilege, that dragged a person into the over-critical world of internet fame, and then mocks them for trying to fit in - doesn’t that say a lot about us?
As is, her transition into her life mustn’t have been the easiest thing to do. Our privilege, that dragged a person into the over-critical world of internet fame, and then mocks them for trying to fit in - doesn’t that say a lot about us? Would it truly take so much out of us to cut people some slack? It is almost as if we weren’t okay with her handling her “fame”. And like Harish Iyer said:
Let’s be nicer to people. The point isn’t the silly meme-ing, the problem isn’t the online dragging. It is the fact that we are constantly making boundaries between “them” and “us”, and rather than working towards breaking class barriers, we discourage fluidity and consequently the dissolution of those boundaries.
That can’t be okay.
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