Tamannaah Bhatia bagged an endorsement for Mysore Sandal Soap but not everyone's happy about it.
Kannada actress and former Congress spokesperson Ramya/Divya Spandana expressed her displeasure in appointing Tamannaah -- a non-Kannadiga -- for endorsing the popular soap made by the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited, a Karnataka state government company.
Taking to her X handle, Ramya wrote, 'By taking a non-Kannadiga as a brand ambassador to target the consumer market in the north they have alienated its own people, its core loyal consumer base -- the kannadiga. It fails us especially at a time when we’re fighting to retain our Kannada pride.'
Tamannaah is Sindhi by birth and is a Mumbai girl.
She was paid Rs 6 crore (Rs 60 million) on May 22 to promote Mysore Sandal Soap, a brand that completed 100 years in 2016. That's a rare feat to be accomplished by any brand in India.
'Even from a business point of view especially when the company is dwindling imho (in my humble opinion) Mysore sandal soap is iconic and carries huge legacy. It doesnt need a brand ambassador (Amul, Apple, Dove, Amazon),' Ramya said.
'Women have fought for centuries from voting rights to unrealistic beauty standards on runways to skincare to equal pay -- and here we're still being told fair skin is aspirational.'
Many netizens pointed out there were other actresses of Kannada origin like Deepika Padukone, Rashmika Mandanna and Pooja Hegde, who could have been appointed instead.
This is not the first time a non-Kannadiga is endorsing Mysore Sandal Soap. In the past, we have seen M S Dhoni, Dia Mirza and Mugdha Godse endorse it.
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