In the beginning, the Hindu daughter-in-law walks out all dressed and accessorized with jewelry, what was she dressed for, work? Did she not know there’s a program or ceremony being held in her house? All that decoration and planning will require at least a day to set up. Was she locked in the room prior to it?
Why did the mother-in-law take her to the kitchen and then gently swerve her towards the outdoor? I mean the outdoor looked more attractive than the kitchen. She wanted to show the recipe of Pulikudi (a customary tamarind drink for married ‘Hindu’ women for their first pregnancy) on the fridge. This seemed like an attempt to show their effort and make sure she sees what the family is doing for her.
Then she asks the mother-in-law; ‘This kind of ceremony doesn’t at all happen in your house. Right?’: Does it mean that they are doing her a favor? Was she married in a Hindu tradition? Obviously, we wouldn’t know those details but one can say it definitely is against the Quran to do so.
To be honest, a Godh Bharai or Hindu baby shower is conducted during a woman’s 7th month of pregnancy and clearly, she looked around her 5th. Maybe so, but she really looked fit for her pregnancy. I surely think they got that wrong. Miranda Kerr gained weight in her pregnancy. Anyway, I digress.
Another important point I would like to raise is that in this ceremony at least for Hindus the mother, sister and other female relatives of the girl are also invited. In fact, that would have given it a more accepting look and feel; a Muslim family accepting the girl’s family too and vice-versa. In this scenario, it looked like the Muslim family decided to bend the rules a little bit just so the daughter-in-law feels a little better from a precarious situation she probably already was in.
I noticed some other quirks that you may think are for art direction purposes and may even offend Muslim households; the mother-in-law wearing such drab clothing looked more like a funeral attire, all the family members wearing beige clothing for a Hindu festival shows much disapproval for it. Yes, before you jump it’s probably a Keralite household and the beige color is tradition, but people forget even on the beige traditional saree there is a red embroidered lining that strikes out.
The daughter-in-law being Hindu didn’t apply Sindoor on her forehead; does that mean she has converted? The mother-in-law could have been wearing a sari to show her solidarity with her instead of a simple salwar kameez. It’s quite impossible that in India any Indian mother would not own a sari of her own regardless of their religion. Also if you look closely at the preparations there is nothing Hindu about it? In Kerala, during Onam, a Muslim household would more or less have the same look and feel as any Hindu household.
I don’t mean to sound chauvinist but generally, in a Muslim house, the father of the house has a leading role. At least a say in most cases, especially if there is a Non-Islamic ceremony being held in his house. Maybe they could have shown a smile from the wretched father who was on the ladder risking his life fixing flowers on the ceiling.
In all honesty, the ad failed because they tried to show that the “Rasm” or ceremony was some sort of a favor to the daughter-in-law. It just might have succeeded if they managed to show that they invited the daughter-in-law’s family, went the full nine yards to show their love for her. But this seemed quite unwanted and disinteresting to all the members of the Muslim family.
At the end, I do hope all hostility settles down and Tanishq realizes advertising is not a joke. The world is run and manipulated by this industry, I’m a part of this industry too. It too requires reforms and order.