MUMBAI: These are sensitive times. Brands and influencers have to tread carefully, almost as if they are walking on egg shells. Streaming service Eros Now learnt it the hard way over the past couple of days.
Ever since the start of Navratri 2020, Eros Now – which is part of Eros STX - has been posting short videos and digital stills from movies produced by Eros International. Some of these featured Deepika Padukone from 2015's Bajirao Mastani. Kareena Kapoor Khan in her Chhammak Chhallo avatar from the 2011 film Ra.One on Twitter. These were accompanied by provocative – and what could be called raunchy messaging, obviously to evoke a grin from the young who flock to dandiya and garba gatherings. The person behind the push is a young social media executive.
"Be naughty, sweet toh mithai bhi hai," read a tweet shared alongside one of the Navratri posters.
Another poster featured a picture of actor Katrina Kaif along with the caption "Do you want to put the ratri in my Navratri?"
All hell broke loose as a section of the Twitterati found the language offensive and vulgar and derogatory of Hindu icons and festivals. And the trolls got to work with a vengeance: starting a hashtag boycott ErosNow which soon became a chorus - so much so that it trended worldwide.
Some even alluded that Ali Hussein the head honcho of ErosNow is a Muslim, which is why the streamer was insensitive to Hindu sentiments. We, at indiantelevision.com, know that a religious slur was not the intent, the idea was to connect with the youth in a manner they talk and joke amongst themselves.
Shame On @ErosNow
Maximum Retweet And Repeat With Me #BoycottErosNow pic.twitter.com/NunUhoW9pl
— Arun Yadav (@beingarun28) October 22, 2020
But the trolls had a field day.
"Dear Eros Now, Why have you posted these double-meaning vulgar banners for the auspicious festive season?" asked one Twitter user.
Others called for strict action to be taken against the company.
Nevertheless, following the uproar ErosNow decided to pull down the so-called offensive tweets and images.
And it shared in a tweet where it explained itself: “We at Eros love and respect our cultures equally. It is not, and it has never been our intention to hurt anyone’s emotions. We have deleted the concerned posts and apologise for having offended anybody’s sentiments.”
— Eros Now (@ErosNow) October 22, 2020
At the time of writing, the anti-ErosNow campaign was losing steam, even though a bunch were still posting their annoyance on Twitter.
