Threats Made At Tanishq Store In Gujarat Following Outrage Over "Ekatvam" Ad

The manager at Jewellery brand Tanishq's store in Gandhidham, Gujarat was threatened by two people, following a furore over its "ekatvam" ad campaign. The ad in question depicted a Muslim family holding an interfaith baby shower for their pregnant Hindu daughter-in-law. Following outrage over social media, the advertisement was taken down by Tanishq.

Reportedly, the manager of the store was forced to write an apology letter by two men. "Apologies to people of Kutch district for hurting sentiment of Hindus by broadcasting secular advertisement (sic)," the manager reportedly wrote in his letter, as per news sources.

"The store has not been attacked. However, I received some threat calls. The police have supported us," the manager of the store told ANI.

Tanishq's statement

Tanishq pulled down the controversial ad which, according to social media users allegedly promoted "love jihad". In a statement, the brand said that the ad has been taken down for the sake of the well-being of company's employees. The statement read: “The idea behind the Ekatvam campaign is to celebrate the coming together of people from different walks of life, local communities and families during these challenging times and celebrate the beauty of oneness. This film has 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.”

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut had called out the ad on Twitter, writing that it glorified “love jihad and sexism.”

The concept wasn’t as much a problem as the execution was,the fearful Hindu girl apologetically expressing her gratitude to her in-laws for the acceptance of her faith, Isn’t she the woman of the house? Why is she at their mercy? Why so meek and timid in her own house? Shameful. https://t.co/LDRC8HyHYI

— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) October 12, 2020

While actress Richa Chadha found the ad "beautiful", Divya Dutta, who had voiced the commercial, wrote on Twitter, “Yes it’s my voice. It s sad it’s taken off air. I loved it.”

Yes it’s my voice. It s sad it’s taken off air. I loved it https://t.co/uWyPzbfHUd

— Divya Dutta (@divyadutta25) October 13, 2020

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“Such a massive company, such a fragile spine,” wrote actor Swara Bhasker on Twitter. "Sad lack of spine.. and conviction. Numerous women (and men) get death threats on social media on a daily basis.. they stand up to it. Unfortunate that a large corporate conglomerate is unable to gather the courage (and resources) to withstand a few days of trolling!" she wrote in another tweet.

Read More Stories By Ria Das