Case filed against Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui for ‘hurting Bengali sentiments’ in Sprite ad

Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has landed himself into legal trouble as a Kolkata-based lawyer, Dibyayan Banerji, has filed a petition against him for hurting the sentiments of Bengalis in a commercial for international beverage brand Sprite.

In the petition, filed in the Calcutta High Court, the lawyer wrote that he doesn’t have any issue with the Hindi version of the ad, but a Bengali-dubbed version didn’t go down well with him and many Bengalis.

In the video, the Badlapur actor is seen laughing at one of the jokes, which says in Bengali, “*Shoja anguley ghee na uthley, Bangali khali petey ghumiye porey”*. The line translates to Bengalis sleep hungry if they don’t get anything easily and was not well received by Bengalis. The ad is based on the popular Bengali idiom, “Shoja anguley ghee na uthley, angul bekatey hoy,” which translates to if you can’t achieve something simply, you have to go beyond it to achieve it.

The ad was taken down from TV and social media platforms and Sprite India posted an apology in Bengali, which read, “We deeply regret our recent Bengali ad campaign for Sprite and are withdrawing this unintentional mistake from the Bengali media immediately. Our company gives due respect to the Bengali language and takes pride in platforms like Coke Studio Bangla, which attach great importance to the respect and prestige of our Bengal. We are committed to preserving respect and the heritage of the state through our service, new investments, CSR, and social consciousness.”

The actor has yet to publicly react to the complaint.