This year's Petronas advertisement wishing Hindus ‘Happy Deepavali' is a far cry from the late film maker Yasmin Ahmad's affectionate, meaningful and memorable works.
The three-minute festive clip ‘Let's do the Dappan' - a musical depicting people dancing in the streets - is in bad taste, according to many viewers.
Wikipedia explains ‘Dappan Kuthu' as: "The musical can be heard being played in houses where death has occurred to reduce or to suppress the sound of crying or to inform others about a death in Tamil villages. It is a typical song genre that goes along with liquor and pickle."
Launched onYouTube on Sunday, the Happy Deepavali advertisement is expected to hit the airwaves this weekend and has already drawn negative comments in the social media.
One YouTube comment states: "For God's sake, do some research on the Indian festive season... Seriously, in what way does this represent Indian culture?"
Another YouTube comment noted: "This is worst ad I have ever seen for Deepavali. It is a disgrace and insult.
"It's a thumbs down for the one who conceptualised the ad. Please don't ever play this ad on TV. I missed Yasmin Ahmad's ad."
Former Malaysian Hindu Sangam president A Vaithilingam said: "It is a controversial advertisement from the start. It shows gangster-like Indian characters causing havoc in the community.
"The clip stereotypes Indians negatively as the ones creating traffic jams by dancing in the middle of the streets.
"It is something typified with the Hindraf movement and Bersih 3.0 to insinuate that Indians are to be blamed for causing traffic jams. This should be stopped and removed from YouTube and the airwaves immediately."
Advertisement targeted at youth
Senator S Ramakrishnan who has also seen the clip on YouTube, said although the Petronas advertisement was targeted at the youth, it glorified a passing trend which will soon fade.
According to him, the clip does not represent the more than 5,000-year-old Indian culture or the sentiment of celebrating Deepavali among Hindus the world over.
"The advertisement does not portray Indian culture, but is based on the current trend of Tamil films that depict violence, gangsterism and idol worship of film stars.
"At the end of the advertisement, the hero character emulates Rajinikanth, a Tamil cinema superstar. It portrays Indians as being a nuisance to society, who should not be taken seriously."
Although the advertisement attempted to be hilarious, Ramakrishnan said it puts Indians in bad light showing them street urchins and delinquents.
A film director who has seen the Petronas Deepavali advertisement said it was quite clear that it was produced by a team of non-Indians or poorly-advised Indians who do not really understand Indian culture and values.
The three-minute festive clip ‘Let's do the Dappan' - a musical depicting people dancing in the streets - is in bad taste, according to many viewers.
Wikipedia explains ‘Dappan Kuthu' as: "The musical can be heard being played in houses where death has occurred to reduce or to suppress the sound of crying or to inform others about a death in Tamil villages. It is a typical song genre that goes along with liquor and pickle."
Launched onYouTube on Sunday, the Happy Deepavali advertisement is expected to hit the airwaves this weekend and has already drawn negative comments in the social media.One YouTube comment states: "For God's sake, do some research on the Indian festive season... Seriously, in what way does this represent Indian culture?"
Another YouTube comment noted: "This is worst ad I have ever seen for Deepavali. It is a disgrace and insult.
"It's a thumbs down for the one who conceptualised the ad. Please don't ever play this ad on TV. I missed Yasmin Ahmad's ad."
Former Malaysian Hindu Sangam president A Vaithilingam said: "It is a controversial advertisement from the start. It shows gangster-like Indian characters causing havoc in the community.
"The clip stereotypes Indians negatively as the ones creating traffic jams by dancing in the middle of the streets.
"It is something typified with the Hindraf movement and Bersih 3.0 to insinuate that Indians are to be blamed for causing traffic jams. This should be stopped and removed from YouTube and the airwaves immediately."
Advertisement targeted at youth
Senator S Ramakrishnan who has also seen the clip on YouTube, said although the Petronas advertisement was targeted at the youth, it glorified a passing trend which will soon fade.
According to him, the clip does not represent the more than 5,000-year-old Indian culture or the sentiment of celebrating Deepavali among Hindus the world over.
"The advertisement does not portray Indian culture, but is based on the current trend of Tamil films that depict violence, gangsterism and idol worship of film stars.
"At the end of the advertisement, the hero character emulates Rajinikanth, a Tamil cinema superstar. It portrays Indians as being a nuisance to society, who should not be taken seriously."
Although the advertisement attempted to be hilarious, Ramakrishnan said it puts Indians in bad light showing them street urchins and delinquents.
A film director who has seen the Petronas Deepavali advertisement said it was quite clear that it was produced by a team of non-Indians or poorly-advised Indians who do not really understand Indian culture and values.
M KRISHNAMOORTHY is a freelance correspondent and producer working with overseas TV networks. He has in the past interviewed the late Yasmin Ahmad and written reviews of Petronas commercials directed by her.
... Dear Petronas, we watched your 2012 Deepavali TV advert "Do the Dappan". I'm not sure how the so-called Dappankuthu has any relation with the Deepavali celebration, which has its own meaning and significance. Deepavali is celebrated by many Indian ethnicity which includes (but not limited to) Tamils, Telugu, Malayalees, Gujaratis, Sikhs and many more. How does your Dappankuthu, serves the message of Deepavali to all of them?
ReplyDeleteWe don't need to dance in the middle of the road with strangers to spread the joy of Deepavali, a simple 'kambi matthaapu' is enough. This year's advert is low quality, irritating and has no Deepavali message, except in the text shown in the last frame. Its a shame.