On the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8, Ashutosh Sujan produced an advert to protest the torture and discrimination of women.
After its release online, the commercial started taking the Internet by storm.
From small-screen star Niloy Alamgir to promising model-actress Sporshia, many a celebrity shared the commercial featuring a young woman in respective Facebook profiles.
The advert garnered praise through Facebook comments by many such stars. Now, the advert has drawn the attention of the world media, who are analysing and hailing it, according to a Bangla Tribune report published on Tuesday.
On April 5, The Indian Express, a leading Indian news agency, ran a special report on the commercial, while the New York Times published a special article on it eight days later, the report said.
Even Twitter, another popular social networking site, is flooded with growing admiration for the work, the report added.
The commercial of Bangladeshi brand Jui Coconut Oil was produced marking International Women’s Day-2017.
Directed by Ashutosh Sujan, the key model in the advert is Shahnaj Sumi.
This article was first published on Dhaka Tribune
Ashutosh has said: “I am delighted that the commercial has gone viral across the world. Foreign media are analysing the advert after it appeared online, which is good news for Bangladesh. But, I do not deserve the success alone. Actually, Sun Communications gave me the task. Without their support and idea, it could not have been possible for me do make the commercial.”
The New York Times in a special supplement wrote that the commercial, lasting around two minutes, shows a young woman going to a hairdressing saloon to have her hair cut. Each time a female barber cuts her hair, the latter suggests it be cut “even shorter.” Finally, the customer says: “Cut my hair so short that nobody can grip it in their hand.”
The last dialogue, in essence catches the attention of the audience.
Sumi, the actress portraying the young woman, was first noticed in a dance show on a private TV station called Channel i. She became the talk of the town through the advert.
When contacted, she told Bangla Tribune: “This is the kind of advert which was not even aired on TV. It was produced only for online. And, we are getting immense response. After watching it, many filmmakers from India contacted me to work with them. A Kolkata-based movie director also talked to me. But I am not working with him. I am satisfied with the chatter taking place in the world media about the advert.”