Once mocked for her dark skin, Renee Kujur has now gone viral on social media and is being called “India’s Rihanna”. According to the Hindustan Times, when Kujur was three, she had dressed up as a fairy for her school’s fancy dress competition. Shockingly, the moment she got on stage, somebody shouted out: “Dekho delho kaali pari (look, a black fairy)”. The audience burst into laughter, forcing Kujur to leave in tears.

The model told HT that in our fairness obsessed country and an even more rigid fashion industry, her dark skin caused her to receive rejection after rejection. “They told me all models are into prostitution. I won’t become a model unless I pleased clients. Being dark had already killed my chances,” she told the paper.

However, all this changed when a friend realised that Kujur bore a striking resemblance to Rihanna, the singer. The friend took a few shots of her and the rest, as they say, is history. “The Rihanna factor turned out to be a blessing. Rihanna has already convinced people that she is sexy and beautiful and the West is crazy about her. If I resemble her, how can I be unattractive? That’s how our mind works. I don’t know where I would have landed without Rihanna,” she said.

(Header credits: India’s Rihanna @badgalrene on Instagram)