Now a Sabyasachi Jewellery Ad is getting trolled. Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee is not new to courting these controversies. Several times he has been in a position where he has had to pull down his campaigns because they have rubbed people the wrong way. However, recently, for his jewellery range, he got trolled for having ‘unhappy’ models posing for the campaign. Several users said that the models look sad, upset, haunted or even depressed. Is keeping a straight face a sign of being unhappy? Isn't depressed too hard a word? Moreover, isn't it a catch 22 situation, because mostly in India women are told off for smiling too much?
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Netizens made it amply clear that they felt the models posing were too serious and won't inspire them as customers to buy the jewellery they were advertising for. The range in question is the Autumn/Winter 2021 Collection fine jewellery. However, why is it problematic to not smile while looking into a camera? A smile which is hiding a hundred sorrows is also a façade? Isn't it?
The other problem is the causal use of the terms 'sad' and 'depressed'. Why are we so quick to use such negative labels? Why do we underestimate the power of words so much? While it is okay to feel sad sometimes, it is a passing state, depression is a mental health issue and cannot be used lightly. It can trigger sentiments in people who are battling mental health issues. To give you a perspective, if you are sad you may not want to get out of bed for a day but if you are clinically depressed you won't be able to get out of bed for days.
While a lot of us may never want to invest or do not have the wherewithal to buy Sabyasachi Jewellery there is no denying that he aces in his core area of expertise that is design. So let's cut him some slack here.
And let's make the internet a peaceful place let us show kindness and patience to others whether individuals or brands and use a language that is positive for us and the online world.
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