Published 20:25 IST, January 30th 2025
'Deepika, Kajol, Bipasha...': Did Kangana Accidentally Name Bollywood Actresses Who Have Undergone Skin Lightening Treatment?
Kangana Ranaut shared a photo of viral girl Monalisa while highlighting the glamour industry’s bias towards lighter skin tones.

Kangana Ranaut is known for being vocal about her bold thoughts and remarks. Recently, an emergency actress shared a post about the viral girl Monalisa Bhonsle, a 16-year-old garland seller from Indore, who gained widespread attention during the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. The actress praised Monalisa's striking beauty and highlighted the scarcity of dark-skinned women in the Bollywood industry. It appears she took an indirect dig at leading ladies including Deepika Padukone , Kajol, and Bipasha Basu for undergoing skin lighting treatment saying that the actress’ often doesn't represent the diverse skin tones of Indian women.
Did Kangana Ranaut take a dig at actresses who have reportedly taken skin-lighting treatments?
Kangana Ranaut shared a photo of Monalisa and praised the viral sensation for her natural beauty, calling her “an internet sensation.” Highlighting the glamour industry’s bias towards lighter skin tones, she wrote, “I can't help but think, do we have dark dusky Indian tone female representation in the glamour world anymore? Are people loving young actresses how they loved Anu Agarwal, Kajol, Bipasha, Deepika, or Rani Mukherjee?”

Kangana questioned why today’s actresses appear unnaturally fair, even if they had darker complexions in their younger days. She remarked, “Why do all actresses look as pale as white women, including those who were dark in their younger days? Why don't people connect with newcomers the way they do with Monalisa? Too much laser and glutathione.”

Though Kangana didn’t directly accuse anyone of undergoing these treatments, it appears that some of the names she mentioned, Kajol, Deepika Padukone and Bipasha Basu have reportedly undergone glutathione IV, a skin-lightening treatment. This has started a buzz on social media.
Netizens court Emergency actress post saying, ‘industry still follows racism’
Taking to Reddit, netizens also supported her statement, saying, “The sad part is that many of the people mentioned (DP, Kajol, Rani) aren’t even dark-skinned anymore! Racism is still there.”
Another user shared, “As much as I find Kangana unbearable at times, she’s genuinely right on such matters. She was very outspoken about refusing to endorse skin-lightening products. Meanwhile, people like Yami Gautam openly admit they have no issue promoting such products. I’m tired of seeing fair-skinned actresses paired with dark-skinned actors, especially in South Indian films. We need more dark-skinned actresses romancing fair-skinned actors like Hrithik Roshan and Mahesh Babu .”
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Updated 20:57 IST, January 30th 2025