Watch | Road safety ad shared by Nitin Gadkari starring Akshay Kumar draws ire for 'promoting dowry'
Road safety ad: In the advertisement, Akshay Kumar plays a police officer at a wedding, talking to the father of the bride, about the number of airbags in a car.
Road safety ad: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari shared an advertisement on his Twitter handle on Friday (September 9), promoting road safety. The ad aims to encourage people towards using vehicles with six airbags to ensure more safety in case of an accident. However, the advertisement starring Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar was slammed for allegedly "promoting dowry".
In the advertisement, Akshay Kumar plays a police officer at a wedding, talking to the father of the bride, about the number of airbags in a car. He can be seen convincing the father to not send his daughter off in a car with only two airbags, and instead get her a car with six airbags.
Sometime after the ad was shared, Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi slammed it, saying it promotes dowry in the name of promoting road safety. "This is such a problematic advertisement. Who passes such creatives? Is the government spending money to promote the safety aspect of a car or promoting the evil and criminal act of dowry through this ad?" she wrote on Twitter.
Several other users also slammed the ad, saying it asks people to invest in cars with 6 airbags, instead of improving the roads. "3000 potholes in a 300 meter road, which you people cannot fix, but are promoting those who sell expensive vehicles. Improve the roads first," a user wrote.
Another user shared an image of the Mumbai-Goa Highway. "This is mumbai-goa highway. This dangerous spot is at Kasarde titha, talere. can 6 airbags save life if unfortunately accident happens," he wrote.