On November 21, a 16-year-old boy from Ujjain committed suicide.
“Even after my child’s death, people keep commenting on his reels, saying he is mad and it’s good that he died,” said Preeti Yadav. “But my child is not mad. My little girl is so talented that she can compete with big makeup artists. How can you judge her? She is just a child.
On November 21, 16-year-old makeup artist prodigy Franshu committed suicide at his home in Ujjain. Pranhu ran an Instagram page @glamitupwithpranhu with over 35,000 followers.
Nine days ago, Franshu uploaded a video on Instagram in which Franshu is transformed into Franshu with a sari, shirt, gold jewellery and makeup. The video received thousands of hateful comments, criticising Franshu for acting “feminine”.
The post currently has over 50,000 comments, and the hate continues even after Franshu’s death. “He wouldn’t have died if he was a boy” and “I’m not sorry, transgenders have increased in India, they should reduce” etc.
But while the media and social media posts concluded in her last post that bullying contributed to Franshu’s death, Preeti was not sure.
“Such comments have come before and Franshu was not affected by them,” she said. “I don’t know what happened on that particular day. Maybe he got a call or a message. He was very young, just 16 years old. If he was older, he would have handled things differently, I am sure. The police are investigating the case and only then will it be known what happened.”
A 6-member special investigation team has been formed to investigate the case. The police are also investigating the phone records and social media handles of the 16-year-old boy.
‘Gift from God’
It was during Covid when Franshu started using social media for school, he started watching YouTube videos and taking online makeup tutorials. Since then, he has uploaded over 300 posts on Instagram, most of which are makeup looks.
Preeti, who works as a medical representative in Ujjain, described Franshu’s talent as a “gift from God”.
“Franshu is self-taught and he has learnt everything on YouTube at home. I am simple and not good at all, but he is very talented and gifted,” she said, adding that she wants to send her child abroad to pursue this skill professionally. “Even trained professionals are not that good. I supported him because God has given my child this talent, this genius, so I have to support it and take it forward. My child had so much courage to be true to herself.
Franshu and Preeti were living alone after Preeti separated from her husband a few years ago. She said Branshu was a “happy kid” and a devotee of Krishna (his Instagram bio also mentions this). She said she never received any complaints of him being teased at school and the school has no complaints about French’s language either.
In a June post for Pride Month, French urged followers not to be afraid of his bullies. “Please don’t worry about them,” the post said. “Whatever I am, it doesn’t seem like I’m successful, but still, I believe I will do what I want, no matter what people say.”
Preeti said Branshu told her a few years ago that “his heart is a woman’s heart” and “he likes to dress up”.
“If he wants to do this, why can’t he do it? It’s not wrong, he hasn’t done anything wrong. What crime is he committing by wearing the clothes? she said. “He is my child, of course I understand and support his feelings. Nowadays children do many wrong things but Franshu didn’t do all this. He was also very respectful of women.
So far, Instagram and Meta have not taken any action on the hateful comments circulating on Franshu’s post. “My child is gone, but this is going to happen to many more children. Instagram and other social media platforms need to take action. Special attention should be paid to the safety of young people under the age of 18,” Preeti said.
