In one of those quiet touches that together make a roar against
ossified attitudes, India finally has its first advertisement
featuring a same sex couple. Ethnic wear brand Anouk, retailed on
fashion portal Myntra, has released an ad featuring two women
preparing to meet the parents of one to introduce themselves as a
couple.
It is a delightful ad, capturing the everyday lived-in-ness of this
couple elegantly.
In the first scene the woman whose parents are expected, let's call
her Radha, is getting ready. She moves around the room looking for an
earring here, a kaajal pencil there. The other one, Sita, has just
woken up and their interaction has the effortless quality of any two
women living together. They crack a joke about Radha's mother always
dressing her in orange as a child, making her look like a "damn
marigold in all my childhood pictures".
But from here, the tone shifts. Radha asks which earring to wear and
the way the Sita answers, with a little jab of the finger, is so
couple-y that you begin to wonder if something more than friendship
and roommate-ship is up. When Sita returns after a shower, she is
dressed in Radha's orange kurta and explains: "I want your mother to
like me." Radha shoots back: "My mother doesn't like girls in short
hair." "You only asked me to cut my hair," Sita complains and Radha
whispers seductively into her ears: "I like you with short hair."
It is so naturally and beautifully executed. The playful
coquettishness of Radha as she brushes her fingers against Sita's
face; the momentary hurt in Sita's eyes at the prospect of not being
liked by her lover's mother. But that's not where the ad ends. If you
thought this ad was good, it gets comprehensively better. Sita passes
through a moment of hesitation and asks Radha if she is sure about
going ahead with it, that is, meeting the parents and perhaps, thus,
outing themselves for the first time. "I am sure about us and I don't
want to hide it anymore," Radha says, and the duo smile and hug. The
phone rings, announcing the arrival of the parents.
This is a perfect ad. It achieves so much in its three-minute
duration. It shows you how normal same sex couples are and how very
similar really to straight couples (In deference to my more
politically inclined gay brethren who balk at such sinister displays
of domesticity, I humbly submit: Let us win the battle before us
first. We can fight for a gayer world later.). It shows you that in
spite of being in a loving relationship, social pressures continue to
force people to question if they are doing something wrong when all
they are doing is loving. And finally, it offers hope. To anyone
straight wondering what exactly the gays get up to, this ad gets it
right. To anyone gay questioning, this ad tells you it does get
better, so hang in there.
This is not the first time that an Indian ad has tried changing
prevalent attitudes. In 2013, Tanishq came out with an ad featuring a
woman who remarries in the presence of her daughter from the first
marriage. Dove, as part of a global programme, has been running the
"Real Women" campaign in India, showcasing women who are not
professional models and so do not represent an unnecessary beauty
ideal.
To be sure, Indian advertisements can also be dishearteningly
backward. An obvious case in point is the vast market of
skin-lightening products which are endorsed by the likes of Shah Rukh
Khan. While several complaints have been made in this regard with the
Advertising Council of India, and several strictures issued as well,
little has changed due to the strong demand for such products.
It is therefore wonderful to see an ad featuring a lesbian couple that
goes beyond its remit and incorporates other meaningful flourishes.
Radha is dark-skinned, tall and Tamil. Sita is shorter, light-skinned
and north Indian (an assumption since she speaks Hindi). They make for
such a natural couple not just because they share a real chemistry
that comes through even in the short duration they are on the screen,
but also because they are making a subtle political statement about
who they are and what they stand for, and how their height or the
colour of their skin does not matter a damn to them.
www.psacademy.co.in
ossified attitudes, India finally has its first advertisement
featuring a same sex couple. Ethnic wear brand Anouk, retailed on
fashion portal Myntra, has released an ad featuring two women
preparing to meet the parents of one to introduce themselves as a
couple.
It is a delightful ad, capturing the everyday lived-in-ness of this
couple elegantly.
In the first scene the woman whose parents are expected, let's call
her Radha, is getting ready. She moves around the room looking for an
earring here, a kaajal pencil there. The other one, Sita, has just
woken up and their interaction has the effortless quality of any two
women living together. They crack a joke about Radha's mother always
dressing her in orange as a child, making her look like a "damn
marigold in all my childhood pictures".
But from here, the tone shifts. Radha asks which earring to wear and
the way the Sita answers, with a little jab of the finger, is so
couple-y that you begin to wonder if something more than friendship
and roommate-ship is up. When Sita returns after a shower, she is
dressed in Radha's orange kurta and explains: "I want your mother to
like me." Radha shoots back: "My mother doesn't like girls in short
hair." "You only asked me to cut my hair," Sita complains and Radha
whispers seductively into her ears: "I like you with short hair."
It is so naturally and beautifully executed. The playful
coquettishness of Radha as she brushes her fingers against Sita's
face; the momentary hurt in Sita's eyes at the prospect of not being
liked by her lover's mother. But that's not where the ad ends. If you
thought this ad was good, it gets comprehensively better. Sita passes
through a moment of hesitation and asks Radha if she is sure about
going ahead with it, that is, meeting the parents and perhaps, thus,
outing themselves for the first time. "I am sure about us and I don't
want to hide it anymore," Radha says, and the duo smile and hug. The
phone rings, announcing the arrival of the parents.
This is a perfect ad. It achieves so much in its three-minute
duration. It shows you how normal same sex couples are and how very
similar really to straight couples (In deference to my more
politically inclined gay brethren who balk at such sinister displays
of domesticity, I humbly submit: Let us win the battle before us
first. We can fight for a gayer world later.). It shows you that in
spite of being in a loving relationship, social pressures continue to
force people to question if they are doing something wrong when all
they are doing is loving. And finally, it offers hope. To anyone
straight wondering what exactly the gays get up to, this ad gets it
right. To anyone gay questioning, this ad tells you it does get
better, so hang in there.
This is not the first time that an Indian ad has tried changing
prevalent attitudes. In 2013, Tanishq came out with an ad featuring a
woman who remarries in the presence of her daughter from the first
marriage. Dove, as part of a global programme, has been running the
"Real Women" campaign in India, showcasing women who are not
professional models and so do not represent an unnecessary beauty
ideal.
To be sure, Indian advertisements can also be dishearteningly
backward. An obvious case in point is the vast market of
skin-lightening products which are endorsed by the likes of Shah Rukh
Khan. While several complaints have been made in this regard with the
Advertising Council of India, and several strictures issued as well,
little has changed due to the strong demand for such products.
It is therefore wonderful to see an ad featuring a lesbian couple that
goes beyond its remit and incorporates other meaningful flourishes.
Radha is dark-skinned, tall and Tamil. Sita is shorter, light-skinned
and north Indian (an assumption since she speaks Hindi). They make for
such a natural couple not just because they share a real chemistry
that comes through even in the short duration they are on the screen,
but also because they are making a subtle political statement about
who they are and what they stand for, and how their height or the
colour of their skin does not matter a damn to them.
www.psacademy.co.in
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