Dior on one side, desperation on the other. A viral video by Australian influencer Jeremy Franco has ripped open global eyes and Indian pride by bluntly exposing the raw, uncomfortable extremes of wealth and poverty coexisting in India’s biggest cities.

“India can go from rich to poor in two seconds,” Franco declares in the now-viral Instagram reel, as he pivots from a luxury Bengaluru mall packed with high-end brands to scenes he says look straight out of Slumdog Millionaire.

“India has DUALITY — you never know what she’s going to give,” he captioned the clip, which has already crossed a million views and sparked a digital slugfest.

The comment section is a battleground. Many users applauded Franco’s blunt portrayal. “Yes. I remember this the first time I landed in Bombay as a kid,” one viewer wrote. “I was perplexed by the have and have-not; side by side. Duality is a way better word for it. Almost nothing like it.”

But others called him out for exoticizing poverty. “India’s diverse beauty is often overlooked by foreign content creators who focus on slums and street food for followers,” one user argued.

Another fired back with a reality check for Franco’s home turf: “Next talk about homelessness in Australia. I was shocked to come on my second week to find a dead homeless man one winter morning being picked up by ambulance.”

Some pointed to the narrow lens through which India is often portrayed. “If you travel to the Northeast, you’re going to see nature’s side. Unfortunately, you won’t visit beyond the golden triangle and think it’s all India,” a commenter wrote.

Franco’s video has reignited a familiar debate: Where does realism end and stereotype begin? For now, his blunt summary: “India is poor and rich at the same time” continues to divide timelines, provoke reflections, and force uncomfortable truths into the spotlight.