So, this ad has a lot of people in India talking [View all]

[Recursion]

http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/3KipzmBH06Qqv2NDsSqy2K/New-Tanishq-ad-receives-bouquets-and-brickbats.html

(The "pheras" is the part of a Hindu wedding ceremony where the couple walks around a fire seven times.)

Jewellery retailer Tanishq has come up with a commercial for Diwali that moves away from the stereotype of blushing, fair-skinned brides and introduces the concept of remarriage—possibly for the first time in Indian advertising.

The ad, shot by filmmaker Gauri Shinde of English Vinglish fame, showcases a dusky bride—theatre actor Priyanka Bose, looking at herself in the mirror as she readies herself for the wedding.

A little girl runs up to her and chatters away. They walk towards the mandap together. The little girl settles down between her grandparents to watch the wedding unfold, but soon wants to participate in the pheras with the bride and groom.

On being shushed into silence, the little girl sits back disappointed. On seeing this, the groom calls out to the girl and carries her through the pheras. The ad ends with the little girl asking the groom if she can call him Daddy.

(Also, I haven't seen this English version on TV here, just the Hindi and Bengali versions -- same footage, though.)

Women in Indian ads generally have whiter skin than me, and remarriage isn't something people talk about at all. The times they are a changin...

(EDIT: "tizzy" wasn't really the right sense there.)