Alia Bhatt's On-Screen Father Bijay Anand Opens Up on the 'Kanya Maan' Advertisement Controversy

Alia Bhatt’s latest advertisement, despite conveying a progressive message, has received a lot of flak from netizens who jump the gun any chance they get. In the advertisement, the actress dressed as a resplendent bride, questions the age-old Hindu tradition of ‘Kanya Daan’ which literally translates to donating the daughter. She said that it should be ‘Kanya maan’ instead (respecting the daughter) as they are not something that can be donated to others.

Netizens criticized the advertisement and the actress and amid this controversy, Alia’s on-screen father Bijay Anand shared his thoughts on the matter. Speaking to a news portal, he said, “As actors, we trust the direction, writing, and production departments to do the right thing and not get us into controversy. I am not an expert on the subject, so, they have to keep in mind the appropriateness and correctness of the subject. Also, everyone has their own interpretation of things. There are hundreds of scholars who have their own take on every topic. If we are so smart, then we should have been scientists.”

Actress Kangana Ranaut, too, slammed the commercial.

Read: ‘Boycott Manyavar’ Trends After Alia Bhatt Ad Showing ‘Kanyadaan’ Gets Backlash

Bijay added, “For somebody to give it a colour, it is very easy. If we are going to start communalising everything, we are only spreading hatred. I’m only seeing that Alia is a Muslim girl, when she is saying ‘Kanya Maan’, for me, she is emphasising the need to respect women in a country where women are getting raped every seven minutes! Why don’t you look at the fact that she is saying ‘kanya ka maan karo (respect women)’. Again, it is your choice; I’m not blaming anyone for it, but we need to remember that hatred will only give rise to more hatred. In the larger picture, when you make a big deal about small things, it just escalates into something else. She is a young girl and is saying something that the director has told her to, but you are just going to go ahead and troll her. I feel that we actors are the softest targets, especially girls. At the end of the day, hatred spreads hatred, and love spreads love”.

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