Mumbai, September 7: Actress Rubina Dilaik has reacted to the controversy surrounding Kriti Sanon’s Raksha Bandhan advertisement.

The actress stated that brands should not use public sentiment around festivals merely to generate buzz.

Discussing the controversy on The4POV, a podcast featuring Rubina and her husband Abhinav Shukla along with actress Hina Khan and her husband Rocky Jaiswal, the actors put forth their individual perspectives on the debate surrounding the advertisement.

Rocky said that while clothing should not have become such a major issue, there are certain boundaries when it comes to religious spaces and sentiments.

“Clothing shouldn’t have created such a big issue. Freedom of expression is not absolute. My body, my rule does not enter in a religious space,” Rocky said.

Rubina further questioned the approach of brands that choose to build campaigns around festivals and then take creative liberties that could potentially hurt public sentiment.

“You can’t play on public sentiment and want to create a buzz,” she said, reiterating the point during the discussion.

She added that actors always have the option of opting out of a campaign if they feel uncomfortable with its creative direction.

“Actors always, always have an option of opting out,” Hina said.

The discussion comes after a jewellery advertisement featuring Kriti for Raksha Bandhan sparked a debate online over her outfit and the manner in which the festival was portrayed.

In the campaign, Kriti was seen wearing a bralette-style blouse with a cape and draped skirt while celebrating Raksha Bandhan, including tying a rakhi to her pet. The advertisement subsequently faced backlash and was withdrawn by jewellery brand.

The controversy escalated after actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut criticised the advertisement. In her initial reaction, Kangana questioned the choice of outfit and called the campaign “intentionally creepy”. She also questioned the portrayal of Raksha Bandhan and its cultural context.

Kriti, meanwhile, hit back at the criticism through her social media post. Without naming Kangana, she questioned the tendency to judge a woman’s connection with culture through her clothes.

“The essence of festivals is not in the clothes you wear, it is in the emotions and meaning you hold for the traditions,” Kriti wrote. She added, “Culture & Traditions are in her heart, not in her neckline!”

Mumbai, Sep 7: Popular television actress Mahhi Vij, who has entered ‘Bigg Boss 20’, has clarified that her exit from her previous show “Seher Hone Ko Hai’ was not linked to her participation in the Salman Khan-hosted reality show, saying she had decided to quit in January itself.

“I had quit the show long back, and this show came to me just 20 days back. So, it’s not related at all. That exit wasn’t sudden. I wanted to quit the show in January, but it was taking time, and I’m sure the creatives were not ready to leave me,” Mahhi told media.

She added: “And I was also not mentally prepared to leave the show because it’s very close to my heart. But yes, I didn’t leave the show for Bigg Boss.”

Upon joining the show, Mahhi said one should always try something new.

“Bigg Boss has been in each and everybody’s (list)… You can say it’s been the most-awaited show of the year, so I wanted to be part of it. I actually didn’t want to be part of it. I love to watch it, but I don’t know what made me take this decision to be part of it. And I’m really excited.”

Mahhi said that the rumours of her joining had been coming every year, but this time, she thought the time was right.

“And there’s always the right time to do things. I mean, there’s a time for everything. I think that time has come,” he said.

Describing herself and what to expect in the show, she said: “Mahhi, as a person, I am very kind-hearted. I’m very short-tempered also, at the same time. I’m very loving. I’m a friend of friends, but also an enemy of enemies.”

“I don’t like to rub people the wrong way, and I don’t want the same for myself. The rest, I don’t know what will happen inside. Maybe a different Mahi will be seen.”

Talking about Bigg Boss being a platform for reviving careers, the former wife of Jay Bhanushali said: “So, nothing can revive your acting career? I could have done something else to revive my career, but yes, definitely, it also plays an important part in our lives.”

“It changes, and it has changed a lot of people. People we didn’t know about earlier, we know about today. It really changes everyone’s identity for good,” she said.

Mumbai, Sep 6: Actress Poonam Pandey has strongly reacted to Swara Bhasker’s remarks about the jauhar sequence depicted in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat.

Speaking exclusively to media, Poonam criticized Swara’s comments and said she was surprised that someone she considered educated and intelligent would make such a statement. The ‘Nasha’ actress said she used to be a fan of the actress but disagreed with what she had said about the film. She questioned why Swara had made such comments and argued that the makers had portrayed the historical account rather than creating a fictional story.

“I used to be her fan, a long time ago. Now, whatever she said… She shouldn’t have said that,” Poonam said. She further expressed her disappointment over Swara’s comments, describing them as a “very stupid thing to say.” She added that she had always considered Swara to be “so educated and so smart” and said she was upset to hear her speak about the film in that manner.

Poonam stated, She said, “I used to be her fan a long time ago. Now, whatever she said… What should I say to her? She shouldn’t have said that. The makers only showed history. They didn’t make up a story. Sanjay Leela Bhansali showed a film based on history.”

“I have a lot of anger inside me. No, I don’t want to… Because it’s a very stupid thing to say something like this. I always found her so educated and so smart. And a woman like her coming out and saying something so rubbish. She… I mean… Her tongue is bad, her face looks bad too,” added Poonam.

For the unversed, Swara Bhasker recently drew attention with her comments on the jauhar scene in the film “Padmaavat.” The actress spoke at the “Woman Life Freedom” talk held at the India International Centre in Delhi on August 31, where she criticized the depiction of the sequence in the film.

Speaking at the event, Swara made a strong observation about the jauhar sequence shown towards the end of the film. She said that the portrayal could send the wrong message to rape survivors and questioned whether the scene suggested that women should choose death to preserve their honour.

She was quoted as saying, “I was watching it, and I thought that if God forbid, I was a rape survivor, what is this film telling me? I would feel like a coward that I didn’t commit suicide to save my honour. Is that what you want to tell in a society like ours where I feel like anyway there is a rape epidemic. Is this what we want to tell our survivors that they don’t deserve to live, that if you actually would have be a honourable and brave women, you would have killed yourself. Are we saying that rape is end of a woman’s life? This scene was so problematic.”