In a nondescript Uttar Pradesh village named Banwari Tola, sisters Jyoti and Neha are hailed as poster girls of women empowerment, and rightly so. In a place where women inherit only kitchen duties and domestic responsibilities, these girls chose to pick up the razor and run their father’s barbershop, while ensuring not to skip their education. What’s more is when they took up this profession, they dressed up as boys assuming men will not be comfortable getting groomed by them. When the villagers got to know of this, they surprisingly supported Jyoti and Neha’s decision.
Gillette has beautifully captured their inspiring story in an ad film that is already going viral. It manages to make a powerful statement because it’s told from the point of view of a young boy who sees how two girls shatter gender stereotypes by running a barbershop for men. After all, kids learn from what they see. Before we tell you more, watch it here:
The one simple, yet impactful line that sums up the ad film is - ustre ko kya pata ki chalanewala ladka hai ya ladki. Perhaps, this line is also representative of the conviction with which Jyoti and Neha forayed into a male-dominated profession. The ad film has managed to strike a chord with netizens everywhere and this is evident in the celeb praises pouring in. On YouTube alone, the ad has clocked in more than 3.2 million views, making it one of the most talked about things on the internet.
What are the celebs saying
Sachin Tendulkar is sure that this story will inspire everyone to have the right attitude and achieve their dreams. Coming from the God of Cricket himself, this means a lot.
Farhan Akhtar, who’s quite social media-savvy, lauded the ‘barbershop girls’ for ‘breaking stereotypes, one shave a time’.
Radhika Apte has time and again impressed us with her offbeat role choices. She’s of the opinion that a video such as this has the ability to empower kids to think beyond stereotypes.
Bhumi Pednekar considers Jyoti and Neha to be an inspiration to children all over.
Popular for being vocal about her thoughts, Swara Bhasker went beyond appreciating the video. She says that she loved the music in the video, while also commending the people of Banwari Tola for their progressive outlook.
These non-stop social media reactions are only proof of how the video has managed to connect with people across the country. Major props to Gillette for this. That’s not all. They are also working to further Jyoti and Neha’s career. Click here to know more! And if you already haven’t shared the video with your friends and family, do it right away and also tell them what you think about it.
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