Actor Divya Dutta had lent her voice to the recent Tanishq advertisement that was targeted on social media by trolls, prompting the jewellery company to take it down on Monday, 12 October. In an interview, she told The Quint what she felt about the advertisement when she read the script for the first time and how she never ever imagined that something like this would happen.
Q: What was your first reaction when you read the script of this ad for your voice over?
Divya Dutta: When I saw the film and when I was given those lines... I think as children, I have sung that song Mazhab nahi sikhata bair rakhna. That always rings a bell to me because I have grown up on that. And it kind of gave me a lump in my throat to have seen this Tanishq ad. It made me feel and believe in the goodness of people, inspite of belonging to any religion. There is love, there is sisterhood, there is togetherness between the daughter and the mother-in-law. It felt so nice so this is the last thing I would think. It really felt nice in fact I told them that I really like it.
It feels sad that from where someone picks these points. We have seen these ads earlier and we used to feel overwhelmed about it. I don’t know where these different emotions come from. Well, I can’t point out at other people but all I want to say is, I really liked the ad and I thought it was beautiful. It was written well and it was shot very well.
Q: Did you in your wildest dreams ever think that a controversy would come up over this commercial?
Divya Dutta: Not at all. I stopped reacting also because this is like just a momentary noise. We have started craving for some kind of sensationalism in our everyday life. I don’t know why things have become like this. It’s so sad because I met the director, she was so excited about it. I don’t think anybody in that room ever thought that. None of us. All I can say is, you can’t change people’s thought or the way they think and that’s fine. All I am saying is, I think it’s a beautiful ad. Like me a lot of other people think so too.
Q: Do you think this thought process, people trolling this ad on social media, talking about religious differences, is a reflection of our society today?
Divya Dutta: I am kind of a little numb with what is happening around and I am still trying to digest it. I don’t know what is being made of what. What kind of sensationalism this is. It’s like faceless people coming in and having their point of view and then I just replied to one and then I thought I really don’t need to indulge with anybody I don’t even know. So yeah, one side are these attention-seeking or faceless identities but I don’t know there is something really that has gone wrong with our psyche somewhere, where you are trying to nitpick on the negativities of it all. You can’t change somebody’s psyche but I am surprised how this is happening. I am not even surprised, I am sad. I am really sad because this is a nation which is known for its integrity, its unity, brotherhood, culture and suddenly we are all fighting for religion. Now friendship will also happen based on religions? Then how will this work?
Q: A lot of people on Twitter thought that the TATAs should not have fallen for the trolls and taken the ad off air. What’s your opinion on the matter?
Divya Dutta: If they have fallen only for the trolls then it is... in fact when I opened Twitter today, the first Tweet I read was somebody who said why did they take it off? So, that’s when I was like ‘Hey, they are talking about my ad. What happened to it?’ So, I don’t think they should have, because this controversy wouldn’t have lasted for more than two or three days, after that it would have settled and I think because of this more people would have seen the ad than they would have otherwise. So, I don’t see the point of having taken it off. But it’s okay. It’s their decision. Maybe they just want to celebrate the festive season and not get caught in controversies. It isn’t our journey so we really shouldn’t say what they should have done and what they shouldn’t. But yeah, it’s sad like I said they shouldn’t have taken off such a beautiful ad.
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