A mobile phone ad featuring New York-born Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri on the front page of an Urdu daily newspaper Jung has sparked outrage in Pakistan for being "obscene".
Fakhri did the ads as the brand ambassador for Mobilink (Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited), a GSM cellular operator in the country, which had launched four 3G phones. Int he photographs, she's lying down in a red dress, with the phone in her hand.
Soon after it was published on Sunday, several people criticised the ad for being cheap, while others saw the funny side of the protests.
My strong protest to top jang group management for this absurd front page ad in today's jang. pic.twitter.com/M5SRc1p3H7— Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) December 20, 2015
Woke up to find every 2nd person on my T/L tweeting that Nargis Fakhri front page ad. Offensive or not, advertiser's mission accomplished— Talat Aslam (@titojourno) December 20, 2015
I wonder does @NargisFakhri knows she's trending in Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/EZbJb9448G— Nazrana Yousufzai (@NazranaYusufzai) December 21, 2015
Born to a Czech mother and a Pakistani father, Fakhri made her Bollywood debut in 2011. She is yet to respond to the incident, but had tweeted this teaser to the ad.
All my Pakistani Fans get ready for a big surprise! #AaRahaHaiX pic.twitter.com/bSoAxk6mUG— Nargis (@NargisFakhri) December 17, 2015