Jewellery company to discontinue ‘racist’ Aishwarya Rai ad

Following the online furore over the ‘racist’ advertisement featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with a child, the jewellery company has now decided to withdraw the campaign.

The 41-year-old actress, who is the National brand ambassador for Kalyan Jewellers, had faced the wrath of activists after the print advertisement was published in a leading daily.

An an open letter addressed to the former beauty queen slammed her involvement in the ad which also promoted child labour. It prompted Aishwarya to release a statement saying the creative team for the brand was responsible for the change.

The company has now apologised for hurting the sentiments of people and has began the process to 

withdraw the campaign.

“The creative was intended to present the royalty, timeless beauty and elegance. However, if we have inadvertently hurt the sentiments of any individual or organisation, we deeply regret the same.

“We have started the process of withdrawing this creative from our campaign,” Kalyan Jewellers said via their Facebook page.