“Makeup ate today” auto reel becomes X’s biggest Indian viral hit with nearly 49 mn views

New Delhi: A two-second reel captioned “makeup ate today” has become the most-watched Indian-origin short video on X, crossing nearly 49 million views within a little over two weeks of being posted. 
The clip, uploaded on November 2 by X user @w0rdgenerator, shows a young woman in an auto-rickshaw doing a quick look and outfit check and has since turned into a meme template across the platform.

Makeup ate today pic.twitter.com/NZ5UFAXxf8

— bud wiser (@w0rdgenerator) November 2, 2025

The creator, identified as Priyanga and now widely referred to online as “Bandana Girl”, did not expect the scale of the response. In media interactions, she said she had anticipated around 1,000 likes, but the video spread far beyond her follower base as users repeatedly quote-posted and reposted it.

X timelines have been flooded with recreations of the same auto-rickshaw moment, spin-offs using the caption, and reaction posts ranging from admiration to mockery. The trend has travelled outside India as well, with users in other countries adapting the format to local settings while keeping the original line intact.

The virality has also revived debate on how short, everyday clips become runaway hits. Many users have celebrated the reel for its unplanned, casual energy, while others have questioned why such a minimal video drew this level of attention.

Priyanga has acknowledged that the constant circulation of her face online has been overwhelming. She has said the attention is exhausting and has left her unsure about continuing to create content at the same pace.

The episode underlines how X’s current engagement economy can rapidly amplify even the smallest posts. Once a clip starts trending, meme accounts, fan pages and general users often push it further through repeated sharing, keeping it visible long after the original upload.