Hairstylist Jawed Habib gets trolled for Hindu gods ad ahead of Durga Puja

Celebrity hair stylist Jawed Habib faced a huge social media backlash for a print ad in Kolkata that showed Durga and other Hindu gods and goddesses at leisure at one his salons. Responding to the trolling, Habib took to Twitter to apologise, saying he had no intention of hurting anyone's sentiments.

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Jawed Habib’s ad showing gods and goddesses at his salon has irked the sentiments of many Hindus. (Source: Twitter)

Renowned hair stylist Jawed Habib, who owns a chain of hair salons across the country, found himself in hot waters when a pre-Durga Puja ad featuring the Hindu gods was released in Kolkata this week. The print ad showed gods and goddesses lounging around in a Jawed Habib salon, getting their hair fixed, applying make-up and counting money, with the tag line, “Gods too visit JH salon”.

The ad did not go down well with people, with many taking to Twitter and other social media platforms to express themselves. While some said that Habib should not have toyed with the sentiments of the people by portraying the deities in this fashion, others lashed out at him for disrespecting the Hindu religion; some even urged people to boycott Habib’s salons for the insensitive ad.

Though, amid the huge backlash, there were some dissenting voices who stood up for Habib, saying that they found nothing objectionable about the ad and that putting Durga and other deities in modern settings ahead of Durga Puja has been done before as well.

Check out some of the angry reactions here.

Can’t do much else, not like I can issue a fatwa, but atleast I can vow to never visit your salons again @JH_JawedHabib. Despicable pic.twitter.com/SLNgZqRNqx

— Nupur (@UnSubtleDesi) September 5, 2017

Mr. Javed habib shame on u,tell me where is mohmmed and almighty allah…give your services to them too. pic.twitter.com/RvXLBOWIda

— Mariner Yogesh (@MarinerYogesh) September 5, 2017

@JH_JawedHabib u belong to ” #religionofpeace ” but need to portray Hindu Gods in a salon?? U don’t think ur Prophet wud like ur salon?????? pic.twitter.com/pJkT5IywqD

— Rajalakshmi Joshi (@rajalakshmij) September 5, 2017

Kindly take action on @JH_JawedHabib for insulting Hindu Gods and Sentiments. #BoycottJawedHabib.@WBPolice @KolkataPolice @BJP4Bengal pic.twitter.com/oPCBkzWeIl

— Prachi Patel (@Prachi_Patel_) September 5, 2017

Rubbish ad by Jawed Habib. I dare him to do such an ad on his Prophet. pic.twitter.com/XxpZQ7pZiu

— Sonam Mahajan (@AsYouNotWish) September 5, 2017

Story continues below this ad

Responding the uproar that was generated on social media, Habib himself posted a series of tweets explaining the situation and even posted a video on Twitter apologising for the ad. He said that he had only one religion, which is that of the scissors, and that the ad was printed by a Kolkata franchise without his permission, and it should not have. He ended the video with an apology, clarifying that he had no intention of hurting anyone.

We understand our ad didn’t go well wid readers, we hereby clarify tht we duly respect, value and do not wish to hurt anyone’s sentiments.

— Jawed Habib (@JH_JawedHabib) September 5, 2017

We regret this incidence & express our heartfelt apology. We fully respect all faiths & beliefs…we do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

— Jawed Habib (@JH_JawedHabib) September 5, 2017

We never want to hurt anyone’s sentiments…we apologise sincerely!

— Jawed Habib (@JH_JawedHabib) September 5, 2017

pic.twitter.com/eCwI3JHszE

— Jawed Habib (@JH_JawedHabib) September 5, 2017

pic.twitter.com/C9atqTxkLW

— Jawed Habib (@JH_JawedHabib) September 5, 2017

Here is the video of his apology.

pic.twitter.com/IHTDX16ahd

— Jawed Habib (@JH_JawedHabib) September 5, 2017

Amid the negative comments that Habib’s ad garnered, there were few who pointed out that depicting gods in modern-day avatar and settings ahead of Durga Puja is not uncommon.

No u dont get i Bengal has tradition of depicting Durga&fam doing mundane human activities The ad is the norm not a departure #JawedHabib

— Madhura (@beralertalibosh) September 6, 2017

a very cute depiction of Ma Durga&family…..#blastfromthepast #JawedHabib #DurgaPujo #Bengal pic.twitter.com/AKL6BuNCiE

— Saileena (@saileenas) September 6, 2017

#DurgaPujo Ads from d past..how much ‘outrage’ for these? #JawedHabib apologised for an ad that showed Ma as family..thats #PujoSpirit 4us pic.twitter.com/MDf2rU8TQ9

— Saileena (@saileenas) September 6, 2017

What is wrong in this ??
Not finding anything insulting in this advertisement by @JH_JawedHabib pic.twitter.com/3mLiZFsd0W

— ???? (@ALKAAGARWAL9) September 5, 2017