‘Boycott Manyavar’ Trends After Alia Bhatt Ad Showing ‘Kanyadaan’ Gets Backlash
A section of Twitter users is upset over a new advertisement of Manyavar, which speaks up against the prevalent practice of Kanyadan among Hindus, leading to an outpour of anger on the micro-blogging site with a call to boycott the brand known for its wedding collections.
While the ad intended to address the sexism present in the practice, and a very harsh reality of how women are treated even in modern day India, a section of Twitter sees the ad as an attack on Hindu wedding rituals by calling the practice of Kanya-daan in itself regressive.
The 1:41-minute ad, which features Bollywood’s leading actress Alia Bhatt as a bride, showcases how women are treated as “dhan” or “riches”.
The backlash from an advertisement that features Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt for the clothing brand. Manyaavar in India is primarily directed at men’s sherwanis, kurtas for wedding fashion, while the female-equivalent of the brand, under the name ‘Mohey’ targets women’s bridal fashion.
In the latest advertisement, where Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt is shown at a Hindu wedding ‘mandap’ awaiting the rituals before the marriage is considered finalized, the ad particularly focuses on how often girls in India are considered a burden and sometimes seen as just a liability to only marry off.
In the ad, Alia is seen questioning the age-old custom where women are symbolically handed over to the groom’s family.
Towards the end of the ad, the groom’s family is seen to unsubscribe to the custom, which is still very common in the 21st century.
Multiple Twitter users saw the ad as way to “demean the Hindu religion.” Many believe it to be a “brand motive to target Hindu customs and traditions.”
Actor Kangana Ranaut slammed Alia Bhatt for the ad by saying that she believes the ad uses “shrewd divisive concepts and advertising.” In a long Instagram post by Ranaut where she had tagged the brand, she wrote, “Humble request to all brands ….. don’t use religion, minority, majority politics to sell things …. Stop manipulating naive consumer with shrewd divisive concepts and advertising…
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