Alia Bhatt's commercial calling out the practice of 'kanyadaan' sparks controversy, netizens say, 'understand the meaning first'

Alia Bhatt’s latest advertisement for an ethnic wedding fashion brand has sparked controversy for suggesting to do away with the ‘kanyadaan’ ceremony, a Hindu wedding tradition. The actress dressed as a bride in the commercial makes a case for brides being given away at weddings by their parents and asks, ‘main koi daan karne ki cheez hoon?’

What was seemingly a progressive attempt by the brand, the Mohey commercial has now sparked a controversy for hurting religious sentiments. Twitterati rained fire on the Alia-led ad for questioning Hindu traditions in the name of ‘woke’ culture and many even vouched to boycott the brand for targeting the religious beliefs of Hindus.

Many asked the makers of the commercial to understand the meaning of ‘kanyadaan’ and also called the ad ‘illogical’ and ‘idiotic’ while also pointing out the brides are also given away in weddings of various other cultures.

Alia’s ad points out how women are told various things like ‘apne ghar jana’ and being called ‘paraya dhan’ and pitches the idea of ‘kanyamaan’ instead of ‘kanyadaan’at weddings. Despite the backlash, Alia’s ad was also hailed by many on social media for questioning age-old and allegedly regressive traditions.