The latest Kalyan Jewellers ad featuring Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter Shweta Nanda is facing a backlash from a bank union which has called the ad 'disgusting' and is aimed at creating distrust in the banking system. According to a PTI report, the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation, an organisation claiming to have a membership of around 3,20,000 officers, threatened to sue the jewellery brand, accusing it of “casting aspersion and hurting the sentiments of millions of personnel” through the advertisement. The ad was launched on the occasion of Kalyan Jewellers completing 25 years of operations in India.

The ad shows Bachchan as an honest retired government servant who refuses to accept the extra pension which seems to have been credited to his account by mistake. He and his daughter reach the bank because they want to return the extra amount. The father-daughter duo are made to go from one counter to the other, and the bank manager finally tells them, that it is a lengthy procedure, and to go home. The manager asks why are they taking so much of an effort, because  no one will even come to know that his pension was credited twice, to which Bachchan opposes and says that is about trust.

Watch the ad here

Unlike the other Kalyan Jewellers advertisements, which focuses heavily on the designs of the ornaments, this ad is different. In the recent ad, the brand has been placed very subtly in the end to highlight the trust which people have bestowed on Kalyan Jewellers in the last 25 years. Amitabh Bachchan was also slammed a few days back for endorsing Horlicks because the product is a 'high-sugar product' and its claims of making children healthier are not scientifically backed.

This is not the first time the brand has faced flak because, in 2015, Kalyan Jewellers' print ad featuring Aishwarya Rai was slammed and termed racist for showing a dark-complexioned boy holding an umbrella under which the actress was seen resting. Kalyan Jewellers has not given out any statement till now; it will be interesting to see if the brand plans to withdraw the ad or will continue to air it.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2018 10:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).