Recently an advertisement for a perfume brand is in news. Bollywood actors like Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan, Richa Chadha, and now Shekhar Suman have condemned the makers of a controversial perfume ad allegedly promoting rape culture.
During a recent interview with ETimes TV, Shekhar slammed the makers and said, “People today feel they can joke about anything in the name of comedy. They feel it is too cool, we are millennial kids we can get away by saying anything and people don’t understand, they don’t have a sense of humor. Bewakoofon we have a better sense of humor than you guys. How can you forget about your responsibility? You think you can show rape in a very casual, fun way. You think you can hit your father with a pair of slippers and you find it cool and funny, it is not funny. There are a few things where you can’t cross the line. Aap ko maryada mein hi rehkar karna hai… I am very happy that it was taken down from all the platforms be it social media or entertainment platforms. The government was very quick, prompt, and strict to act on this. I think people who propagate such kind of humor should be put behind bars, not the innocent ones obviously.
Shekhar added, “You can’t misuse freedom of speech. While kids are growing up, they are given the freedom to do things their own way and make their own decisions. We have to remember our culture and modernity both. Har cheez joh purani hai Woh acchi hai aisa zaruri nahi and harr cheez joh new hai Woh bhi acchi ho woh bhi zaruri nahi…we can always have a middle way. When people start misusing their rights and freedom of speech that’s when the problem starts”.
The Information and Broadcasting ministry asked Twitter and YouTube to take down the perfume ad on June 4 after netizens slammed the makers of the advertisement for promoting a s*xual assault culture.