Controversial YouTuber and political commentator Dhruv Rathee is under heavy scrutiny after claiming that many Bollywood celebrities, including Deepika Padukone, have undergone skin-lightening treatments, a claim that has been rejected by fans and has invited severe backlash
In the viral video that has been circulated heavily on social media and discussion forums, Rathee, in his video, has named Bipasha Basu, Shilpa Shetty, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, and Deepika Padukone, saying that their skin complexion has lightened compared to before. He stated that, “Ek badi lambi list hai yahan par actresses ki jinka career ke shuruwat mein rang thodha dark dhikai deta tha lekin aajkal kafi light dikhai deta hai… Jab inse pucha jaata hai ke aisa kaise hogaya yeh bolti hai ke phele yeh dhoop mein zyada rehti thi ab nahi rehti isliye dheere dheere inka rang saaf hua hai… By the way, inmein se kuch actresses skin whitening cream ki ad karti hai… Fair skin ka raaz na toh koi cream hai na koi dhoop se bachna, reality hai glutathione injections jo skin lightening ka popular tareeka hai.”
Rathee argues that the reason behind the actors’ skin colour change to a lighter complexion is not due to reduced sun exposure or cosmetic choices as they claim, but stresses that the reality is that they use glutathione injections, which he claims is a popular method for skin lightening.
Reactions on social media
Fans of the said actresses, particularly Deepika Padukone, responded strongly to Rathee’s claims, saying that there are several technical factors like lighting, editing, and camera quality that are the reasons for perceived change in complexion. One user wrote, “The lighting helps and editing also happens in Final Cut. I don’t think she got any treatments.”
Another fan wrote that, “First of all I do think the left side era Deepika was into bronzer and tanning. Look at her younger pics, she wasn’t thaaat dark. Barely medium skin tone. So she was just likely following the tan fashion trend of the 2000s in few of her looks like Aishwarya did for Dhoom 2 (or girl just got tanned cuz people with melanin can have their skin tone change like 5 shades based on sun exposure and skin care. I thought avg Indians would know that.”
Some fans defended the individual choices of the actors, saying that even if they did go through the medical procedure, it was their right to do it.
