Actress Kangana Ranaut, most recently seen in the Jayalalitha biopic ‘Thalaivii’, took to her Instagram account on Tuesday to call out actress Alia Bhatt and her commercial for a jewellery brand that questions the tradition of ‘Kanyadaan’.
In the commercial, Alia’s character, a bride, is seen wondering if women were ‘paraya dhan’ (someone else’s wealth) meant to be given away to a man during ‘Kanyadaan’. The bride declares at the commercial’s end: “‘Kanyadaan nahin, kanya maan’ (Don’t give away your daughter as a gift; give her respect).”
Kanagana put up a long post on her Instagram account, highlighting the importance and history of ‘Kanyadaan’ in Hindu culture. She also accused the brand of engaging in “anti-Hindu propaganda” and asked her followers to seek a ban on the advertisement.
In the caption, Kangana wrote: “Humble request to all brands… don’t use religion, minority, majority politics to sell things… Stop manipulating naive consumers with shrewd divisive concepts and advertising.”
In another post, where she explained Hindu marriage traditions, she added in the caption: “Don’t become a pest who loves to abuse and condemn Hinduism just because it is the most tolerant religion.”