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The Ambanis wished new daughter in law Shloka in an "adorable" cringeworthy video on her birthday, clearly sending out the message that they want her to pop a baby soon.
The Ambanis wished new daughter in law Shloka in an “adorable” cringeworthy video on her birthday, clearly sending out the message that they want her to pop a baby soon.
After stunning the entire country with the most ostentatious and unabashed (ugly?) display of wealth at last year’s eye-popping wedding bash, the Ambanis are now preparing to execute the most expensive baby shower, naming ceremony, and nursery there ever was.
In a video that is as amusing as it is disturbing, ‘Princess Shloka’, who married ‘Prince Akash’ is wished by members of the Mehta and Ambani families. They praise her and hope fervently that she gives them their heir apparent and fulfils her side of the ‘bargain’.
These are my top takeaways from this astounding 10-minute video that can only be titled “Kyunki Shloka bhi Am-baa-ni banegi”. Please also note that this entire public pressure to have kids is told as a fairytale come true.
*Sarcasm alert!
With great power and paisa comes great pressure to get pregnant. You may be the wealthiest most well-travelled people in Asia, but when you get married, a good bahu reproduces faster than a cola dispensing vending machine.
Once you get married you have to change your name and add your husband’s name as a suffix as well. Shloka is referred to repeatedly as SHLOKA AKASH AMBANI, or Mrs Ambani, or Mrs Akash Ambani. Every member of her family reminds her of this nametag and now that she gets to be an AMBANI, she has to make them, dada, Kaka, Dadi and Nani.
Nitaji is the ‘ideal mother-in-law’ praising her bahu for her achievements in their kitchen, and for the fact that she reads. But because the Ambanis are ‘progressive’ like that, they talk about how she has brought in popcorn, cupcakes and alcohol flavoured teas. I’m pretty sure it was to munch on or hydrate while watching this ridiculous video.
You may love your bahu immensely but instead of just wishing her directly you must read scripted lines off a teleprompter. The video begins with Mukesh, the bored patriarch before moving to Nitaji whose facial muscles can barely move as she rambles on about her bahu who like Madhuri in HAHK likes chocolate, lime juice, icecream toffiyan.
From her grandparents to her husband’s younger brother to the golden boy Akash himself, everyone hints, winks and eggs her on (pun may be intended) towards being an Am-Baa-ni. Her dad wishes she has good health because she needs it this year, while her husband wants to make new ‘things’ with her with a sound effect enhanced wink. I kid you not.
The problem is not that they made a video to wish her or that they were cool with the media circulating it. But couldn’t they have just wished her a happy birthday and left it at that? Couldn’t they have said hey it’s your first birthday as a wife and daughter-in-law and we are so happy that you are family now? But no. Each one of them took it upon themselves to congratulate her for being Shloka Akash Ambani as if marrying him was the biggest achievement of her life! Was this video to remind her she is an Ambani or wish her for her birthday?
In a country where women are under pressure constantly to first get married then have kids, to have influential public figures pressurise their daughter in law for an heir after just four months of marriage is akin to setting a dangerous precedent. I mean what will prevent families from saying tomorrow that if the Ambani Bahu can have a kid soon why can’t you?
I really wish they as a family focus less on putting up appearances and actually being authentic, and perhaps a little more in tune with the changing times.
Image source: YouTube
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The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
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*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
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