Sena Rajya Sabha MP says Centre's airbag ad with Akshay Kumar promotes evil of dowry

A public service advertisement on road safety featuring Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar is at the centre of a growing storm for allegedly promoting dowry.

The minute-long clip is set during a 'bidaai' ceremony. The teary bride sits in the car and her father, also crying, sees her off. That's when a cop, played by Akshay Kumar, intervenes to tell the emotional father of the bride to send her and the groom in a car equipped with six airbags instead of their current vehicle equipped with just two.

The father agrees, and the next visual is the couple, all smiles, driving away in a car with six airbags -- graphically demonstrated.

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi and Trinamul Congress' Saket Gokhale were among those who spoke against the video, a public service advertisement (PSA) posted on social media following the death of former Tata Sons chairperson Cyrus Mistry in a car crash earlier this month.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had posted the video on Twitter in a bid to promote travelling in a vehicle with six airbags.

The ministry spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment. However, a source close to the development told PTI that the advertisement does not talk about dowry.