Alia Bhatt questions ‘kanyadaan’ in ad, Chilkur Balaji priest calls out for ban
At the time of kanyadaan, she questions “Am I a thing to be donated?” and says it should be ‘kanyamaan’, and not ‘kanyadaan’.
Hyderabad: Chilkur Balaji temple chief archaka C.S. Rangarajan took a dig at Alia Bhatt’s new advertisement for Mohey, a luxury wedding clothing brand, which states that the Hindu ritual kanyadaan, where the parents of the bride give away their daughter, should be redefined as kanyamaan.
Rangarajan called out the ad for mocking highly-valued rituals. In the video, the actress, a bride clad in brand’s bridalwear, boasts about how she has always been pampered by her parents while constantly being reminded that she is a ‘paraya dhan’ who would be sent to ‘her home’ one day.
At the time of kanyadaan, she questions “Am I a thing to be donated?” and says it should be ‘kanyamaan’, and not ‘kanyadaan’.
Sharing his strong thoughts on the ad, the priest said, “In our system, we worship women as goddess Mahalakshmi. During the marriage, the girl is treated the same while the boy is regarded as Lord Vishnu. Kanyadanam means the goddess Mahalakshmi is being wedded to Lord Vishnu. Such a great ritual is being mocked at and insulted. We can’t take this nonsense.”
He further urged the brand to withdraw the ad and, if not, the entire community will revolt, he added.
Alia Bhatt has been part of the same brand for a while now. Before this, she had acted in another bridal ad as well.
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