Now Reading: GIVA pulls Rakhi ad after row over Kriti Sanon’s outfit
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GIVA pulls Rakhi ad after row over Kriti Sanon’s outfit
Jewellery brand GIVA has withdrawn its Raksha Bandhan advertisement featuring actor Kriti Sanon after a social media backlash over her outfit. The ad showed Sanon in a bralette-style top with a cape…
Jewellery brand GIVA has withdrawn its Raksha Bandhan advertisement featuring actor Kriti Sanon after a social media backlash over her outfit. The ad showed Sanon in a bralette-style top with a cape and skirt, tying a rakhi to her brother and a pet dog. BJP MP Kangana Ranaut called the ad 'intentionally creepy' and questioned the clothing choice for a traditional festival. Sanon responded on Instagram, saying culture is in the heart, not the neckline, and defended tying a rakhi to her dog as a family bond. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi supported her, saying what a woman wears is her choice.
GIVA said it had the highest regard for Indian culture and did not intend to hurt sentiments. It removed the campaign from all media. The controversy has sparked a wider debate on women's clothing choices and traditional values. Sanon's sister Nupur also defended her, asking critics to evolve.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The coverage splits into two camps. BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's criticism of the outfit as 'intentionally creepy' is foregrounded by thefederal.com and BBC, while cinemaexpress.com leads on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's defence of Sanon. Bollywoodhungama.com and onmanorama.com treat the row as straight celebrity news. M9.news sensationalises the controversy even after the brand withdrew. The core cultural clash is between Ranaut's framing of traditional propriety being breached and Sanon's argument that culture resides in intent, not necklines. The brand's apology sidesteps which 'segment of society' it appeased, leaving the underlying question unsettled for the next festive ad campaign.
Coverage: 9 sources, 8 neutral, 1 sensationalist
Sources (9): thefederal.com (neutral report), telanganatoday.com (neutral report), m9.news (sensationalist), ndtvprofit.com (neutral report), onmanorama.com (neutral report), cinemaexpress.com (neutral report), bollywoodhungama.com (neutral report), bollywoodhungama.com (2) (neutral report), bbc.co.uk (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 9 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 9 sources.
