Why An Advert Featuring Amitabh Bachchan And His Daughter Is Infuriating Bankers

The old man and his daughter are shown to have a bitter experience at the bank where dismissive officials send them from one counter to another.

By: News Desk |
July 19, 2018 6:53 pm

A jewellery commercial featuring actor Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda has invited the ire of which termed it “disgusting” and aimed at creating distrust in the banking system.

In the one and half minute long jewellery commercial, the 75-year-old actor, depicted as a common man is seen visiting a bank branch along with his daughter to return the extra money credited in his pension account. The old man and his daughter are shown to have a bitter experience at the bank where dismissive officials send them from one counter to another. Even the manager doesn’t seem empathetic. He asks him to keep the extra money with himself. At the end, Mr Bachchan’s character gives the manager a lesson in personal integrity.

All India Bank Officers’ Confederation, an organisation claiming to have membership of around 3,20,000 officers, on Wednesday threatened to sue Kalyan Jewellers accusing it of “casting aspersion and hurting the sentiments of millions of personnel” through the advertisement, PTI reported.

AIBOC general secretary Soumya Datta alleged that the theme, tone and tenor of the Ad were “disgusting, derogatory, to say the least and is aimed to create distrust in the banking system, for pure commercial gain.”

Meanwhile, Kalyan Jewellers, the brand Mr Bachchan was promoting, has rejected the allegations saying it was “pure fiction.”

“We understand that your esteemed association feels that the bankers have been portrayed in bad light.We state it on record that it is a pure fiction and at no point we have intended to generalize the bank officers at large,” said representatives of Kalyan jewellers in a letter to Datta.

“Please accept our unconditional disclaimer for the same. We shall within three working days from today add ‘characters and situations depicted are fictional. The brand does not intend to disrespect or malign any person or community’ before the advertisement,” it said.

Check the controversial commercial here.