By Ila Ananya
A new leaked advertisement for Kenwood washing machines has been circulated on social media in Pakistan.
It begins with a group of men sitting in a room and laughing. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays the lead, is sitting sprawled across a sofa, eating popcorn, and his friends ask him whether he had a fight with his wife. “Bhai se attitude bardash nahi hoti” (Bhai cannot tolerate attitude), he says, before going on to say, “She was getting loud,” and “She misbehaved again.” His friends look like they want to put him on a pedestal.
And then comes the punchline. “Mera haath utt gaya, uski dhulayi ki.” We all know that dhulayi, which literally means ‘washing’, also refers to ‘beating up.’ Suddenly the man’s friends pretend his wife has come home, and he gets scared — we’re not sure if this is supposed to be the ad’s saving grace, and if so, how? Then there’s a clean voice over while the camera zooms into a Kenwood washing machine, telling us that if we want a good dhulayi, we should bring home a Kenwood washing machine.
It isn’t even an ad that begins in this unbelievable way and goes on to condemn domestic violence in the end. It’s just jolly all the way, so seriously, what is happening here? It doesn’t matter that the ad wasn’t officially released (the ad was posted on a Facebook group called ‘WhatsApp videos’ with the blurb, ‘this new #kenwood ad is hilarious’). Kenwood has since given an apology and said their “judgment was flawed,” after it came under major criticism. We don’t know if Siddiqui knew what the ad was going to be before he acted in it, but if he did, we’re wondering what he was thinking.
What does it mean that people who make advertisements think it’s completely alright — and just as horrifyingly, think it’s normal — to have a video like this one to promote a product? It reminds us a bit of a Morrocan TV channel that ran a segment showing women how to use makeup to cover up bruises from domestic violence. Like this ad, that segment too seemed to be based on the premise that domestic violence was not only common but also normal. “We hope these beauty tips will help you carry on with your daily life,” that Morrocan show had ended. We are wondering when this is going to change.