Mira Filzah has been trending all over social media these past few days after a Twitter user named Eshwarya Andy (@eshwaaaaarya) accused the actress of exploiting the Indian culture for her own profit.
The local celeb posted photos of herself donning a traditional wedding dress to promote her coloured contact lens, Lavue. She also uploaded a clip of herself in the ensemble lip-syncing to a Hindi song, sparking massive backlash from fans.
Refusing to prolong the issue, Mira issued a public apology. She clarified, “I’ve always been a fan of Bollywood movies since I was small. I even memorised all the songs and Googled the lyrics to understand the song deeply.”
“As a big fan of Bollywood, it’s always been my dream to wear full lehanga (traditional Indian wedding dress) just like Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai. When I received the offer for the commercial shoot, the image of Aishwarya Rai’s coloured eyes came to mind. So, I was the one who suggested the Bollywood theme to the brand owner,” she explained.
“Again, there’s no intention at all to gain any profit by my own from the Indian culture itself. I’m just a die hard fan of Bollywood and I am sorry if you think what I did was wrong,” the “Nona” MC replied to the netizen.
Eshwarya also apologised to Mira for the negative attention it brought. She then advised Mira to “talk a little about the Indian culture” before she dons the clothing. In another thread, she added, “If you intend to wear our clothing, perhaps get some Indian models too. Because all we want is recognition for our culture. And maybe you can get the clothing from an Indian-owned shop next time.”
While both Mira and Eshwarya have apparently reached amicable terms, netizens are still debating about the issue. It was later revealed by Twitter user @MinJoohyun__ that the designer for Mira’s dress is actually an Indian Muslim. Eshwarya ended up apologising over the misleading information following the clarification.
https://twitter.com/MinJoohyun__/status/1296477568196124673
Indians getting hyped up about Mira Filzah wearing an Indian outfit when some of them can't even drape their own sarees without a professional to help them.
Don't be so punde laa.Aku bertahun2 pi rokol pakai baju kurung xde plak org kecoh. 😢
— 𝓓𝓪𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓸𝓯𝓡𝓪𝓽𝓷𝓪𝓶 (@mileeratna) August 20, 2020
https://twitter.com/ezro_cadabro/status/1296453021849845760
https://twitter.com/adaazam/status/1296466715975581698
Others also defended the “Pujaan Hati Kanda” star by stating that what she did wasn’t in any way cultural appropriation, but was “cultural appreciation”.
