Aishwarya Rai Bachchan blames creative agency for 'racist' ad, Kalyan Jewellers pulls it down

Aishwarya Rai is back to being talk of the town and for all the wrong reasons this time. The recently released advertisement for Kalyan Jewellers that was featured in The Hindu (Delhi edition) on 17 April 2015, has gotten a lot of backlash and shows Aishwarya reclining under a parasol held over her head by what the letter published in Scroll describes as ‘a dark-skinned slave-boy’. In a statement on behalf of the actress in NDTV , her publicist suggested that Aishwarya was not involved in the final image that appeared in the newspaper. [caption id=“attachment_2208672” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Twitter @KhaleejTimes[/caption] Kalyan Jewellers have pulled the advert after much criticism and posted on Facebook  saying: “With regard to the item Open letter to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: This ad you figure in is insidiously racist, the creative was intended to present the royalty, timeless beauty and elegance. However, if we have inadvertently hurt the sentiments of any individual or organization, we deeply regret the same. We have started the process of withdrawing this creative from our campaign.” The statement, addresses the authors of the open letter saying: “On the onset we would like to thank you on drawing our attention to the observation of the perception of the advertisement. Here is an attachment of the shot taken by somebody during the shoot. The final layout of the ad is entirely the prerogative of the creative team for a brand. However shall forward your article as a viewpoint that can be taken into consideration by the creative team of professional working on the brand visual communication.” A group comprising a feminist activist, a former chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights among others had written an open letter to slam the former beauty queen’s recent print ad, which they felt also promoted child labour. The statement comes after the letter titled “Open letter to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: This ad you figure in is insidiously racist” , takes on the former beauty queen for appearing “to be representing aristocracy from a bygone era - bejewelled, poised and relaxing while an obviously underage slave-child, very dark and emaciated, struggles to hold an oversize umbrella over your head”. They asked Aishwarya Rai, who is the National brand ambassador for Kalyan Jewellers, to cease to associate herself with “this offensive image by ensuring that further use of this advertisement is stopped”. “As an influential member of the Indian film industry and a popular star with a large fan following, we trust that you wish to use your image in a manner that promotes progressive thought and action, and would not knowingly promote regressive images that are racist and go against child rights,” it further read. Aishwarya is the national ambassador of jewellery brand Kalyan Jewellers. (With agency inputs)