Ranveer Singh's recent ad collaboration with adult movie star Johnny Sins, parodying Hindi serials, has stirred controversy. TV actor Rashami Desai expressed disapproval on Instagram, stating the ad mocks the Indian television industry.
Rashami, who gained prominence through the Hindi TV series ‘Uttaran’ after starting her career in regional films, described the collaboration as ‘most unexpected.’
She further wrote, ‘I’ve started my work from a regional film industry. And then started working in television industry. People call it a small screen. Where normal people watch news, cricket, all the Bollvwood films also, and much more. After watching this reel, which is highly unexpected, I felt it’s a humiliation to all the TV industry and people who work in television. Because we (are) always made feel smaller. Actors really wanna work on big screen too, this is how exactly we get treated. Everyone is working hard. But I’m sorry, TV show pe yeh sab nahi dikhate. This all happens on big screen. And nothing wrong in showing some reality but this is reality check for all the TV industry coz I feel it’s a slap. May be I am overreacting. But we show culture and love to our audience. And I am hurt coz I’ve had respectful journey in TV industry. Hope you all will understand the emotion.’
Netizens disagreed with the actor's criticism of the advertisement.
A user on Reddit wrote, ‘If you’re doing good TV shows, good for you, but the kind of TV shows that was parodied in the ad do exist. People make parodies of good movies as well. No big deal.’
Another user wrote, ‘So true!! It’s not that serious plus it made us all chuckle.’ A third user criticised Rashmika’s take, and wrote, ‘Why are tv actors this sensitive?? Like pick any serial and it’s the most regressive mind numbing thing you would have ever watched.’
Ranveer shared the commercial on his Instagram on Monday and received praise from fellow actors.
Other television actors such as Nakuul Mehta and Karan Kundrra were impressed.
Nakuul commented, ‘Aceing my day job and how!’, while Karan wrote, ‘Hahahahahhaah killed it’.
Other celebrities such as Arjun Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Vikrant Massey and more also dropped encouraging comments on Ranveer’s advertisement.
Ranveer and Johnny Sins' collaboration serves as an endorsement for a sexual wellness brand. The commercial was written by Tanmay Bhat, Vishal Dayama, Devaiah Bopanna, Puneet Chadha, and Deep Joshi.
Also Watch | Deepika Padukone to present at esteemed BAFTA awards, alongside David Beckham, Cate Blanchett, Dua Lipa