Jewellery brand Palmonas has sparked fresh buzz with its latest ad featuring Shraddha Kapoor and Amrita Rao in a light-hearted take on tradition, choice and contemporary jewellery wear.
The ad rethinks traditional ideas around who can wear jewellery like a mangalsutra, using familiar cultural moments and humour that connects easily on social media.
In the film, Shraddha Kapoor appears as herself and initially declines to hand over the brand ambassador role to anyone else, citing her strong connection with the brand. The narrative then shifts into a humorous banter that quickly leans into cultural assumptions: a mangalsutra traditionally symbolises marriage, and Kapoor who is unmarried is playfully presented as “not fitting” that role.
Enter Amrita Rao, whose casting taps directly into shared cultural memory. Rao’s image is strongly linked to her role in the 2006 film Vivah, where a now-iconic moment involving the offering of water with the simple line “jal lijiye” became part of popular lexicon and wedding nostalgia. The ad smartly references this scene, using it as a wink to viewers who grew up with that memory and understand the subtext.
Rather than positioning this as a generational clash, the campaign flips the script: Kapoor counters that Palmonas’ 9-carat gold mangalsutra range, with more than 500 designs starting around Rs. 9,000 is meant for daily wear, not just ceremonial use. It has a message behind it if jewellery is designed for everyday life, traditional rules about who should wear it no longer apply.
For many viewers, another standout element has been Rao’s appearance, with social media buzzing over her “ageless charm” and how closely her on-screen presence recalled her Vivah days sparking comments like “she hasn’t aged a bit.” This has added a layer of nostalgia that helps the ad connect emotionally with audiences across age groups.
Palmonas is not just relying on star power; the campaign reflects a broader shift in how jewellery brands are trying to modernise category norms, especially in India’s deeply tradition-oriented jewellery market.
Using references like “jal lijiye”, a phrase that has long outlived its original film context and become part of meme culture also underscores how marketers are leaning into shared cultural memory and digital language to make traditional products feel contemporary and relevant.
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It is pretty clear that Palmonas has created an advertisement that’s not just visually engaging, but culturally clever bridging nostalgia, humour, and jewellery in a way that feels fresh and conversation-worth/
