As soon as Manyavar‘s Kanyadaan advertisement dropped, it stirred controversy among the netizens. The bridal wear advertisement featured Alia Bhatt. In the advertisement, Alia Bhatt is seen in the mandap and she is about to get married. However, just before the ‘kanyadaan‘ ritual, she mentions that even when everyone in her family loves her so much, why treating her like an ‘other’ part of the family. She says, “Am I a thing to be donated? Why only kanyadaan”. The commercial ends with Alia’s dialogue “Kanyadaan nahin, kanya maan’ (Don’t give away your daughter as a gift; give her respect).
Many people appreciated the thought process behind the advertisement. They loved the ad and termed it as a ‘modern concept‘. However, others criticized the ad saying that it is showcasing the Hindu rituals as regressive. The social media users pointed out the fact that the Bollywood industry itself objectifies women. And, a Bollywood actress is hired to promote “women empowerment”. They termed the advertisement as Misguided Activism.
Bollywood Actress Kangana Ranaut also joined the bandwagon. She took to Instagram to express her views on the same. Subsequently, she put up a long post on her Instagram account. Kangana wrote about the importance and history of ‘Kanyadaan’ in Hindu culture. She requested people to stop mocking Hindu rituals.
Kangana also accused Manyavar of engaging in “Anti-Hindu Propaganda“. She completely disagreed with the ‘Kanyadaan’ reference in the bridal ad. Lashing out at the brand, she asked them not to mix religion in order to manipulate their customers.
Further, she asked her followers to seek a ban on the advertisement. Kangana was last seen in Jaya Lalitha’s biopic titles “Thalaivii”
You can take a look at Kangana’s post on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/kanganaranaut/