Giva pulled its Rakshabandhan advertisement featuring Kriti Sanon on Wednesday after criticism over the outfit she wore in the campaign. The withdrawal followed a short but noisy backlash cycle that began on Tuesday and moved from social posts to a full removal from all media.
Kriti Sanon and the Rakhi row
The ad showed Sanon celebrating Rakshabandhan in a cropped top, skirt and cape, and also tying a rakhi on her pet dog. Kriti Sanon answered the criticism on Tuesday night with the line that culture and traditions are in a woman's heart, not in her neckline, then repeated in an Instagram story that the essence of festivals lies in emotions and meaning, not clothes.
Kangana Ranaut attacked the ad as intentionally creepy and asked why anyone would tie a Rakhi in a bikini or under garments. Rahul Gandhi took the opposite view and said what a woman chose to wear was her own decision. That split left the campaign with two arguments at once: one about taste, one about control over women's clothing.
Giva withdraws the campaign
On Wednesday, Giva said it was pulling the advertisement from all media. The brand said it wanted to extend the love and celebration to its pets, but also said that if the recent advertisement had inadvertently hurt the sentiments of some segments of society, that was not its intent at all, and it withdrew the spot out of respect.
The move matters because a festival campaign is built for visibility, and once a brand takes it down, the message stops traveling even if the debate keeps moving. Here the removal ended the commercial run, but it did not end the argument over whether modern styling can sit inside a sacred festival campaign without triggering a backlash.
Rakshabandhan in public view
For readers tracking the row, the practical takeaway is simple: Giva has already removed the ad from all media, so the campaign is no longer available in the form that drew the criticism. What remains is the broader dispute over presentation, and that now sits with the actor, the brand and the people defending both sides.
How long the advertisement had been live before Giva withdrew it was not stated. That missing detail keeps the timeline tight: criticism on Tuesday, Sanon’s response that night, and a full withdrawal on Wednesday.
