Aishwarya 's Racist Ad Withdrawn By Jewellary Brand

The allegedly racist' advertisement featuring Aishwarya Rai with a dark, emaciated boy has been withdrawn by Kalyan Jewellers.

The advertisement had drawn the ire of the activists who termed it regressive' and offensive'. The objection was raised to the image of a dark-skinned, emaciated, slave-boy' holding an umbrella for the fair and royal Aishwarya Rai.

Outraged by the ad, Feminist Activist Farah Naqvi, Nisha Agrawal (CEO, Oxfam India), Enakshi Ganguly & Bharti Ali (co-directors, HAQ: Centre for Child Rights), Madhu Mehra (executive director, Partners for Law in Development), Shantha Sinha (former chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights), Harsh Mander (centre for equity studies) and Mridula Bajaj (executive director, Mobile Creches), had written an open letter to Aishwarya Rai, claiming that the print ad was racist, promoted child labour and represented Aishwarya as "aristocracy from a bygone era".

A day after the outrage, Kalyan Jewellers have announced that they are withdrawing the print ad.

Kalyan Jewellers also released a statement. It read: "The creative was intended to present the royalty, timeless beauty and elegance. However, if we have inadvertently hurt the sentiments of any individual or organisation, we deeply regret the same.

"We have started the process of withdrawing this creative from our campaign."