Entertainment
oi-Prakash KL
Kriti Sanon has recalled the unexpected attention her Raksha Bandhan advertisement received, saying she was stunned to see discussions about her outfit spill over into prime-time television debates.
The actress spoke about the controversy while appearing on Kareena Kapoor Khan’s What Women Want Season 6. Recalling the reaction to the campaign, Kriti said she could not believe that her “choli” had become the focus of a six-member panel discussion on prime-time news.
Actress Kriti Sanon discussed how her GIVA Raksha Bandhan advertisement sparked controversy over her outfit, leading to prime-time TV debates and prompting her response that clothing doesn’t determine respect for tradition.
“I couldn’t believe… when my choli had become like a 6 people panel discussion on prime-time news,” Kriti told Kareena, who responded, “I know.”
The controversy erupted after jewellery brand GIVA released its Raksha Bandhan campaign featuring Kriti. In the advertisement, the actress is seen celebrating the festival with her brother and also tying a Rakhi to her pet dog while dressed in an Indo-Western ensemble.
The campaign soon drew criticism on social media. Some users objected to Kriti’s outfit, arguing that it did not fit their idea of traditional attire for Raksha Bandhan. Others questioned the way the festival was portrayed in the advertisement, including the presence of her pet and the lack of conventional festive elements.
Kriti Sanon still hasn’t gotten over the backlash to her skimpy outfit in the GIVA Rakshabandhan ad.Weeks after the controversy, she brought it up again during her conversation with Kareena Kapoor Khan on What Women Want Season 6, claiming she still doesn’t understand why it became such a huge issue.But perhaps the point was never about her “agency” over what she wears. The criticism was about the context: portraying a sacred brother-sister relationship while using an outfit that was inappropriate for the occasion.Kriti is a smart woman. So she didnt miss that distinction genuinely. She is choosing to pretend she did because it allows her to continue to play victim.
— Brutal Truth (@sarkarstix) October 7, 2026
Kriti subsequently addressed the criticism on Instagram, questioning the practice of judging women based on their clothes.
She wrote that ethnic fashion had evolved over the years and argued that a woman’s respect for her culture should not be determined by what she wears. “Culture and traditions are in her heart, not in her neckline!” she said.
The actress continued sharing posts around the larger issue of women, clothing and social expectations in the days that followed. One of the posts she reshared stressed that the discussion should not be reduced to a “Men vs Women” debate while highlighting concerns around patriarchal attitudes.
Kriti also posted about women’s safety and the kind of world daughters should grow up in on September 27. Days later, she shared another post addressing victim-blaming and the tendency to link a woman’s clothing to sexual violence.
Although those posts did not specifically name the GIVA campaign, they came amid the discussion surrounding the backlash to the advertisement.
Kriti’s latest comments on Kareena’s show have now brought her experience of the controversy back into focus, particularly the extent to which a debate over an outfit from a festive advertisement made its way into mainstream television discussions.
