On Monday, composer and lyricist Sona Mohapatra took to Twitter and talked about not being associated with brands that promote Jacqueline Fernandez. Jacqueline came under Enforcement Directorate’s scanner in connection with a money laundering case worth ₹ 200 crore against conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
Sona tweeted, with a picture of beauty products bearing Jacqueline’s face, “& also apparently free, expensive, un-earned luxury gifts..my personal decision is to avoid any brand with a Brand ambassador of this kind. Person of substance, have a worthy skill set, something to admire? No? If not, please don’t sell me anything with your vacuous self. #india ”
Opening up about her personal stance on the importance of brands carefully selecting their face, Sona told Hindustan Times, “The idea is not to diss someone. At the same time, sometimes I feel, to make a larger point about having better role models in society and children of our generation not running after numbers, pretty faces, gym bodies, and botox faces. So I mean, this is not what I want to talk about. This has specifically triggered me after I saw it at the airport, on my way back from my Kolkata gig and I feel like there’s another level of shamelessness. I don’t know if you are aware but I know this one, she used to come to my house and it used to be weird. This is just bizarre that the whole list has come out from the ED. The list of accepted gifts range from Gucci, Chanel, private jet rides to a house, Arabian racehorse, and whatnot, but the next day she was there grinning and smiling at Salman’s Iftar party because obviously, the belief is that we are untouchable and we can just continue just the way we have been following on Instagram.”
“I rather not make it personal but put out a fun message in a way that kids or whoever people reading in, aspire for better things than this- earn your own luxury. Hard work is the key. We cannot be idolizing and give so much to such painted dolls and celebrities,” she reasoned.
Sona, who has been vocal about several topics on social media, is often seen tackling trolls. Talking about her struggle with voicing her opinion, she added, “Having said that I don’t want anything that puts on pressure on me. It also takes a toll on me, I do want to say my piece, from my heart, I don’t have a PR agency, or anybody guiding me. Apart from that, it’s also a point for the corporate and brand world, I mean choose your brand ambassadors carefully. You are setting up role models for what is success in this world, that’s also a key point. I feel sad that many people end up making it tabloid news about a particular person or pulling somebody down. The headlines would be ‘Sona lashes, or Sona disses’, that’s just ridiculous. A headline that makes me look like a mad b*tch or crazy woman is not what I seek right now because it’s not what I am doing. It’s making me as violent as the trolls.”