Hansal Mehta criticises Rishabh Pant’s new ad for ‘ridiculing art’, wants it pulled down

Hansal Mehta has reacted strongly to a newly launched commercial from the fantasy sports platform Dream 11 featuring Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant. The ad has gone viral on social media for the way music artists and performers are depicted in it and netizens are expressing their mixed reactions to it. As the video clip caught the attention of the Scam 1992 director, he took to Twitter and criticised it severely. Not just this. Mehta also asked Dream 11 to pull it down immediately as it ‘ridiculed art’.

Rishabh Pant’s new ad features him as a music artist 

In the latest advert from Dream 11, Rishabh Pant was seen dressed in a kurta pajama with a shawl wrapped around his shoulders. He wore a wig and kept a light stubble as well. In the get-up of a performer, Rishabh entered the stage with folded hands. A group of musicians were seated around him. Three mics were kept in front of Rishabh and instead of sitting down, he bent over like a wicketkeeper behind the wickets. As the music cued in, he made gestures with his hands and then he jumped on one side as if to catch a ball. This video has gone viral on social media and many are criticising it for ‘making fun’ of artists. 

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Hansal Mehta criticises Dream 11 ad 

The Dream 11 ad seemed to recreate the Indian classical music scene and presented it in a comical light. This has not gone down well with a section of social media users and artists. Hansal Mehta posted the ad on his Twitter handle and wrote, “This is a disgusting and disrespectful commercial. Pimp yourself but not at the cost of ridiculing art and it’s rich traditions. I demand that @Dream11 pulls this down (sic).” In his Instagram stories, Mehta wrote, “Disgusting, distasteful and disrespectful advert. Shame @Dream11 and @rishabpant (sic).”

When reacting to Mehta’s post about the Dream 11 ad, a netizen wrote, “I don’t see how it’s ridiculing art? It’s just saying that HE will be bad at it (sic),” the director reacted to them writing, “Everything about it ridicules Hindustani classical music. The stereotypical musicians, his outfit and applause of the audience for the mockery. I found it disrespectful and distasteful. The script, the execution is in terrible taste. I usually enjoy satire but this ain’t satire (sic).”

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Here is how some social media users reacted to the Dream 11 ad featuring Rishabh Pant. 

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