Kriti Sanon recalls the GIVA ad controversy during Kareena Kapoor Khan’s show.
GIVA campaign sparked television debates over Kriti Sanon’s festive outfit.
Kangana Ranaut also criticised the GIVA advertisement during the backlash.
A sneak peek of Kareena Kapoor Khan’s What Women Want Season 6 trailer has offered a glimpse of Kriti Sanon revisiting the GIVA ad controversy, recalling how her festive campaign outfit became the subject of intense television debates. Appearing on the new season of the show, the National Award-winning actress reflected on the scrutiny female celebrities often face over their clothes and admitted that the scale of the discussion had surprised her.
Kriti Sanon recalls GIVA advertisement backlash
The controversy centred on GIVA’s Raksha Bandhan campaign featuring Sanon in a contemporary Indo-western outfit. She was seen wearing a white bralette-style choli with a sheer cape and an embroidered skirt while taking part in festive celebrations, including tying a rakhi on a pet dog.
The styling was criticised by sections of social media, particularly because of the family-oriented festive setting. The debate soon moved beyond social media and into television discussions about clothing, culture and representation.
Recalling the episode on What Women Want, Sanon said her choli had “become like a six-person panel discussion on prime-time news”. The observation was met with immediate agreement from Kareena, who responded, “I know.”
What happened after the GIVA ad controversy?
The campaign also drew criticism from actor-politician Kangana Ranaut, who questioned Sanon’s outfit and compared the top to a “bikini”. Following the backlash, GIVA issued a public apology and withdrew the campaign from its television and digital platforms.
Sanon had also addressed the criticism at the time. The actress questioned why women continued to be told what to wear and argued that cultural identity should not be judged by clothing. “Also, when will we stop telling women what to wear?” was asked by Sanon in her response, before she added that culture and traditions were “in her heart, not in her neckline”.
Her latest comments on Kareena Kapoor Khan’s show have brought the GIVA controversy back into focus, highlighting how quickly a celebrity’s fashion choice can become a wider public debate about women, clothing and cultural expectations.
