A restaurant in Pakistan has come under controversy following the inclusion of a scene from Alia Bhatt's film in an advertisement. The restaurant used scenes from the Bollywood film Gangubai Kathiawadi. They used the scene of Alia Bhatt to attract men to the restaurant.
Alia played the role of a prostitute in the film. The ad features a scene where Alia's character calls to attract the customer. The restaurant announced a 25 percent discount for men who come to the restaurant on Monday, along with the ad. The tagline of the ad is 'Acha na raja- what are you waiting for?'.
Following the release of the ad, there was widespread criticism. Demands arose that the ad should be withdrawn from many angles. Some have described the ad as just a dirty marketing ploy.
“It is anti-feminist and ignorant to use a painful scene to justify what you promise;” criticism raised on Instagram
“Using a clip from a movie based on prostitution and using it from a movie based on someone's real-life just shows how low you are for publicity;” wrote another fan.
The restaurant authorities came out with an explanation instead of withdrawing the ad. Restaurant officials said the idea was for advertising purposes only and was not intended to offend anyone.
The film Gangubai Kathiawadi is a biographical crime drama released on 16 February 2022. The film garnered positive reviews.
