Corporate India is suffering from fake videos and calls of boycotts of their products alleging promoting and endorsing purported ‘love jihad’.
Asia’s largest luggage manufacturer has become an unlikely victim of a viral video depicting an interfaith couple with fraudulent use of advertisement clips in Kerala under the guise of Eid wishes.
The video, purportedly implying interfaith marriage, shows that the girl might end up in a suitcase (labelled VIP Industries).
The VIP Industries has clarified that it has no connection with the creator of this ad and has filed a police complaint against social media posts showing the advertisement with hot selling Skybags ad-film clippings.
Mumbai headquartered VIP Industries manufactures and retails popular luggage, backpacks and handbags brands like Aristocrat, Skybags, Caprese, Carlton and VIP.
Backlash from netizens over viral ad
It has been at the receiving end of online abuses and boycott threats after the purported video that also shows “a Muslim man erasing the bindi of a Hindu woman” indicating conversion.
According to VIP Industries chairman Dilip Piramal the malicious video unlawfully used its brand names to tarnish the image of the company, business and brand.
VIP files multiple complaints
“VIP Industries has filed multiple complaints with the police in Mumbai and Kerala for inappropriate usage of VIP trade names,” said Piramal.
The original video was posted on the Instagram account of Malayalam actor Vishnu Vijayan, who portrays a Muslim man in the video wearing a skull cap. The creators of the video claimed that it was made to recreate scenes from the film ‘Sufiyum Sujatayum’ and its songs, and was not intended to promote ‘love-jihad’.
