When Alia Bhatt says ‘Kanya Maan’, she is emphasising the need to respect women in a country where they are getting raped every seven minutes: Bijay Anand – Times of India

Alia Bhatt looks resplendent as a bride in her latest wedding advertisement, but her dialogue promoting ‘Kanya maan’ and questioning the Hindu tradition of ‘Kanyadaan’ has not gone down well with a few. Netizens were divided over the commercial, which presented a fresh perspective on the age-old tradition of giving away girls at weddings as a part of a ritual called ‘Kanya daan’. Here’s how Bijay Anand, who plays Alia Bhatt’s father in the commercial, reacted to the controversy…

Expressing that actors should not be blamed for the script, 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”.

In the commercial, Alia Bhatt’s character promoted the idea of respecting women and urged that the ritual be called ‘Kanya Maan’, which literally means honouring her, instead of donating to her to the groom’s family during a wedding ritual as a part of the ritual called ‘Kanya Daan’. Kangana Ranaut had also slammed the commercial, writing, “Stop mocking Hindus and their rituals….”

Sharing his thoughts on the same, Bijay opined, “For somebody to give it a colour, it is very easy. If we are going to start communalising everything, we are only spreading hatred”. Extending support to Alia, he added, “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”.