An advertisement by Titan Group's Tanishq Jewellery featuring an interfaith married couple has received massive backlash on social media, with '#BoycottTanishq' trending on Twitter on October 12. Over 17,000 people on Twitter demanded a boycott of the jewellery brand and a ban on the controversial advertisement.
The 45-second advertisement, released on 9 October, shows a Muslim family preparing a traditional Hindu baby shower for their pregnant Hindu daughter-in-law.
The advertisement showed the ceremony called Seemantham or Valaikaapu which is dedicated to first-time mothers to pray for their safe delivery and happy life. It is typically celebrated in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana.
The description of the video on YouTube reads, "She is married into a family that loves her like their own child. Only for her, they go out of their way to celebrate an occasion that they usually don't. A beautiful confluence of two different religions, traditions, cultures."
However, the advertisement wasn't received well by netizens, as many accused the brand of promoting 'love jihad' and 'fake secularism'.
Meanwhile, the company has turned off comments on its YouTube page after massive criticism.
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