A Raksha Bandhan advertisement featuring Bollywood actor Kriti Sanon has been pulled by jewellery brand GIVA, days after her outfit and a scene involving her pet dog set off a heated debate online. Sanon didn’t stay quiet about it either, pushing back hard against the criticism on Instagram.
The ad was meant to be a fairly ordinary festive campaign, timed to release just before Raksha Bandhan. Instead, it turned into one of the more talked-about celebrity controversies of the week, pulling in everyone from ordinary social media users to actor-politician Kangana Ranaut.
Background: A Festival Ad Meant to Feel Modern
Raksha Bandhan is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in India, built around the bond between siblings, with sisters tying a rakhi thread on their brothers’ wrists as a symbol of protection and care. Brands lean into it every year with jewellery, gifting, and family-themed campaigns, and GIVA’s ad was one more entry in that crowded space.
What made this one different was the styling. Sanon wore a bralette-style blouse with a cape and a draped skirt, an Indo-Western look that broke pretty sharply from the usual festive-wear most Raksha Bandhan ads stick to. The campaign also had a scene where Sanon ties a rakhi to her pet dog, stretching the idea of siblinghood to include animals.
Details: How the Backlash Unfolded
The reaction was swift. A section of viewers argued the outfit didn’t suit the tone of a festival rooted in family tradition, and some called it disrespectful to the occasion altogether. The scene with the dog added fuel to that, with critics saying it diluted the emotional core of the festival rather than expanding it.
Kangana Ranaut weighed in publicly on August 24, questioning the ad directly. She wrote that women today have plenty of clothing options available to them and asked why anyone would choose to “tie your brother a Rakhi in your bikini/undergarments,” a comment that quickly spread across social platforms and pulled even more attention toward the campaign.
Sanon responded the following day, on August 25, defending both her outfit and the choice to include her dog. She didn’t back down from the criticism, and her post read as a direct answer to Ranaut and others who had piled on.
Quotes: What Kriti Sanon Said
Sanon’s response leaned on emotion over aesthetics. “The essence of festivals is not in the clothes you wear; it is in the emotions and meaning you hold for the traditions,” she wrote, explaining that Raksha Bandhan for her is about the prayers she and her sister exchange for each other’s wellbeing.
She extended that same sentiment to her pets. “And for us, this prayer and promise extends to our dogs too! After all, they are family!” she said, defending the ad’s most criticized element rather than distancing herself from it.
She then turned the conversation toward a broader frustration with how women’s clothing choices get scrutinized. “Also, when will we stop telling women what to wear?? Ethnic fashion has evolved over the years, but still a woman’s respect for her culture is measured with just her clothes!! Culture & Traditions are in her heart, not in her neckline!” she wrote.
Impact: A Bigger Conversation Than One Ad
What started as a jewellery campaign turned into a much bigger argument about tradition, modern fashion, and how much say women get over their own image in advertising. It’s a debate that keeps coming back in Indian entertainment, almost on cue, whenever a female celebrity does something that breaks with convention.
The backlash also wasn’t one-sided. A number of users pushed back on the criticism itself, calling it an overreaction and pointing out that outfit-shaming tends to follow the same pattern whenever a woman is in the public eye. That pushback ran alongside the original criticism for days, keeping the story active well past its first news cycle.
Conclusion: What Happens Next
The ad remains withdrawn for now, and neither GIVA nor Sanon has indicated plans to revive or replace it before Raksha Bandhan celebrations wind down this year. Sanon’s Instagram post continues to draw comments and shares, and it’s likely the debate around it will keep circulating through the festival period rather than fade out quickly.
Whether this changes how brands approach festive advertising going forward is harder to say. Similar controversies have flared up before and mostly blown over once the news cycle moves on, though each one adds to a running conversation about how much freedom celebrities and brands have to reinterpret tradition.
FAQs
Why did the sister tie rakhi to her brother, according to tradition?
The rakhi thread is meant to symbolize a sister’s prayer for her brother’s safety and wellbeing, with the brother traditionally promising to protect and support her in return. The custom traces back centuries in Hindu tradition, tied to the belief that a sacred thread carries protective power when tied with intention and blessing. Over time, the ritual has grown beyond its religious roots into a broader celebration of sibling bonds, which is part of why campaigns like GIVA’s tried to stretch the definition of “sibling” to include pets, a move that clearly didn’t sit well with everyone.
Do Punjabi people celebrate Raksha Bandhan?
Yes. Raksha Bandhan is celebrated widely in Punjab, both by Hindu and Sikh families, though how much emphasis it gets can vary from one household to the next. The core of it doesn’t really change from what’s practiced elsewhere in North India sisters tie the rakhi, brothers give gifts and promise protection, and the day usually wraps up with a family meal. Local customs add their own texture here and there, but Punjab isn’t an outlier when it comes to marking the festival.
What is GIVA and why did the brand pull the ad?
GIVA is an Indian jewellery brand known for festive and gifting campaigns, and Raksha Bandhan is typically a key sales period for it, much like it is for most jewellery labels in India. The brand pulled Kriti Sanon’s ad after sustained criticism over her outfit and the inclusion of a pet dog in the rakhi-tying scene, choosing to withdraw the campaign rather than let the controversy continue running alongside it. In its statement, GIVA said the pet segment was meant to reflect how many people view animals as family, not to disregard the festival’s traditional meaning.
