Nitin Gadkari slammed for 'promoting dowry' in Akshay Kumar-led advertisement
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari has been receiving flak after he shared an advertisement to highlight road safety and the importance of buying cars with six airbags. The said advertisement featuring Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar was targeted for having a problematic plot "promoting dowry culture." Read on to know more about the controversy here.
What did the advertisement show?
In the video, a tearful man can be seen bidding farewell to his newly-married daughter and son-in-law. Portraying a cop, Akshay Kumar enters the scene and tells the man that his tears are justified as he is sending them off in a not-up-to-the-mark car. Offended, the man boasts about the features of the car. And then, Kumar points out the lack of six airbags.
Here's why it was considered problematic
Though the video did not directly promote dowry culture, it was suggestive of the same. Gadkari shared the video and wrote in Hindi, "Make life safer by traveling in a vehicle with six airbags." Besides, Gadkari also thanked Kumar on Friday for supporting the nationwide road safety campaign, lauding his efforts to spread awareness about the importance of road safety.
Controversy took shape after Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi's tweet
Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi shared the tweet posted by Gadkari and called it problematic. She wrote, "This is such a problematic advertisement. Who passes such creatives? Is the government spending money to promote the safety aspect of a car or promoting the evil & criminal act of dowry through this ad?" Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale called the ad "disgusting."
Check out Gokhale's tweet here
Upcoming projects of Kumar awaiting release
Meanwhile, on the acting front, Khiladi Kumar has been facing back-to-back failures with his recently released ventures: Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj, and Raksha Bandhan. He has a huge lineup of films that are awaiting release. His film Ram Setu will hit the theaters on Diwali 2022. Kumar recently announced he'd be starring in the Hindi remake of the National Award-winning Tamil drama, Soorarai Pottru.
