Has the latest Nawazuddin Siddiqui ad really raised a storm in the teacup?
https://www.facebook.com/Admaddude/videos/1497175507023914/
It clearly seems that people have reacted straight off their hips shooting right left and center without fully comprehending the true message behind the lines. This is another example of misfiring in our masochistic socio-cultural milieu of the Indian subcontinent. On a careful second or third viewing of the ad, one can’t help but smile on a subtle innuendo referring to the concept of REAL ‘dhulayi‘ which a washing machine can expertly do without any gender leanings. The bigoted hue and cry being raised from both sides of the gender divide is exactly the theme this ad points out to.
On one hand, are the ever-present women right/women lib activists who leave no stone unturned and no occasion unquestioned to point fingers and cry hoarse on the first indication of something remotely resembling a sign, statement or a theme eluding to undermining even a minute reference derogatory to women empowerment or rights. In the ad Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s categorical statements of fixing HIS problem for good denoted by his hand gestures and clear reference to having done dhulayi of his wife and finishing off the problem once and for all can rightly set the gunpowder on fire, prompting social media to take him to task.
On the other hand, is the male-dominated opposing camp which is secretly relishing in this controversy but is forced to defend the men folk with the rational argument that in the real and practical world of the middle and upper-middle-class bourgeoisie society, it works exactly the other way round. This means that the husbands are fed up with the continuous abuse which their better halves throw at them day in and day out. This argument is clearly reflected in Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s gestures of being startled to death by the mere reference of his wife as well as the pointing of hand towards his weak heart condition and the goosebumps on his arm. All three gestures give ample evidence of the ‘psychological dread’ which he holds his wife in, which can amount to even more frightening a scenario than physical molestation or the crime of domestic violence attributed to the men folk.
However, the real interpretation of the highly innovative Kenwood ad pertains to the resolution of these opposing conflicts in which the two extreme contradictory views are dismissed in favor of an unbiased mechanized modern concept of cleansing (dhulayi in our vernacular) which rises above the human biases (his/her) and gives it a perfect twist in favor of a household appliance which is in a perfect position of doing dhulayi of only his/her clothes, and nothing else – ensuring perfect peace at home!
Right on the dot.
