Kriti Sanon On Raksha Bandhan Ad Row: ‘People Talking About Culture Abused My Family’

Kriti Sanon has revisited the choli controversy surrounding her Raksha Bandhan advertisement, revealing that the online backlash extended to her parents and sister. Speaking to Kareena Kapoor on What Women Want, the actor said she usually ignores trolls but felt compelled to respond when criticism of her outfit turned into a wider debate about women’s clothing, culture and personal choices.

Kriti Sanon on the choli controversy

Recalling how her outfit became a subject of prime-time discussions, Kriti said, “I don’t pay attention to any of the trolls. I don’t pay heed to them. I feel like I don’t need to justify anything because I don’t want to give them that attention. I let it pass.”

She added that the situation changed when her choli became a “national debate”, describing how it had turned into “a six-person panel discussion on prime-time news”. Kriti told Kareena that the episode made her feel she needed to speak up.

The actor stressed that the controversy was about more than her outfit. “Thank you, but I felt like it was not about me, it was a much larger issue, where I feel that women are constantly under scrutiny for everything, and it’s only women who get targetted in the smallest things,” she said.

Kriti says trolls abused her family

Kriti said the abuse directed at her family was particularly disturbing. “I don’t read comments under the posts, I am not of that habit but I feel, sometimes people just get so nasty and people who are talking about culture, respect, were ironically the ones who were commenting on my parents and sister’s post in the nastiest abusive language,” she revealed.

She also said her sister had asked her to switch off the comments because of the abuse. Kriti argued that women should be able to make their own choices without being subjected to constant judgement. “We are also humans and it affects us and it’s not fair to any woman,” she said.

What sparked the Raksha Bandhan ad controversy?

The backlash began after Kriti appeared in a jewellery advertisement ahead of Raksha Bandhan. Actor Kangana Ranaut criticised the campaign without naming Kriti, calling it “intentionally creepy”. The brand later withdrew the advertisement, saying it had not intended to hurt anyone’s sentiments.