Deeply saddened: Jewellery company withdraws ad on interfaith love

An advertisement by a popular jewellery brand on interfaith love triggered a furious backlash on social media with some accusing the jewellery brand of promoting ‘love jihad’, prompting the company on Tuesday to withdraw the film citing hurt sentiments and the well-being of its staff.

In a statement, the company said they are “deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions”. The film, it added, had “stimulated divergent and severe reactions, contrary to its very objective”.

“We are deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions and withdraw this film keeping in mind the hurt sentiments and well being of our employees, partners and store staff,” a Tanishq spokesperson said in a statement.

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The 43-second commercial, which led to the hashtag #BoycottTanishq trending on Twitter, shows a pregnant woman being led to her bridal shower, a Hindu custom called ‘godh bharai’, by a woman who viewers later realise is her mother-in-law.

The young woman, in a sari and bindi, addresses the older one, in a salwar kurta and a dupatta covering her head, as ‘Ma’ and asks, “But you don’t celebrate this custom?” The mother responds with a gentle, “The tradition of keeping daughters happy is there in every home.”

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Setting the scene of a composite family, a woman in a hijab, people in saris and a man in a skullcap can be seen in the backdrop.

The description of the video on YouTube read: “She is married into a family that loves her like their own child. Only for her, they go out of their way to celebrate an occasion that they usually don’t. A beautiful confluence of two different religions, traditions, cultures.”

Soon after, the commercial opened the floodgates of debate and trolling with a flurry of tweets, some angry and threatening, demanding a ban on the advertisement and a boycott of the brand.

Tanishq, the jewellery brand, first disabled comments and likes/dislikes on its ad on YouTube, and on Tuesday withdrew the video altogether.

Last year, Surf Excel was severely criticised for an ad showing Hindu-Muslim unity. The detergent brand, known for its tagline ‘daag acche hai’, was subjected to the ‘#Boycott Surf Excel’ trend on Twitter.

Its Holi ad featured two children, a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy. The girl dressed in white is seen riding a bicycle and challenging neighbourhood kids to splash colour on her. It is later revealed that she did so to protect her Muslim friend who had to go to the mosque for prayers.