Meet the new Cadbury girl- Kavya Ramachandran
Advertisements are not just for promotional purposes or to generate income. They strike a chord with the audience. Cadbury India created one such iconic ad in the 90s for Dairy Milk with cricket as the backdrop.
The ad starts with a girl (Shimona Rashi) eating Diary milk as she cheers the cricketer on the pitch, presumably her boyfriend. He is on 99 runs, only a run short of a century. As he goes for a big shot, everyone looks on, tensed.
The fielder is about to catch the ball, and the girl starts praying. The fielder misses the catch, and the ball moves past the boundary line for a six. The overjoyed girl then sneaks past the security onto the pitch and breaks into an impromptu dance as her boyfriend blushes and smiles, watching her dance. The ad ends with the girl feeding the chocolate to her boyfriend.
The ad became a trendsetter with its exceptional music and sweet dance moves. Shimona Rashi became an overnight sensation and became popular as the ‘Cadbury girl’.
Cadbury India recently recreated the ad, but this time with a twist. They swapped the gender, and in the new ad, it was a man cheering the female cricketer on the pitch.
The new ad also received a lot of praise, not just for evoking nostalgia but for promoting the concept of gender equality with subtlety. The ad by Good Morning Films is directed by Shashank Chaturvedi. Shankar Mahadevan rendered his voice to the beautiful jingle ‘ Kuch Khaas hai’.
The decision to retain the original song and the unique dance moves spiced up the feeling of nostalgia for the kids of the 90s. The new ad is also a fitting tribute to the Indian women’s cricket team. The girl who enacted the role of the cricketer also deserves appreciation for beautifully portraying various emotions of a cricketer. She made an undeniable contribution to the success of the recreated version of the ad.
Kavya Ramachandran, who donned the role of a cricketer, is a Chennai-based actor, educator, theatre artist and swimmer. Though she belongs to a Keralite family, she was born in Chennai. However, Kavya completed her primary education in Cochin, Kerala. She returned to Chennai and completed her graduation in economics at Stella Mary’s college. She worked in an NGO for a year in Bangalore before joining ‘Teach for India’ in Mumbai as a fellow. She later came back to Chennai and became immersed in theatre activities. She is also the co-founder of an NGO named Sukha Education Foundation.
Kavya admitted that there was the pressure of recreating the iconic ad. But, the makers assured her that they were not trying to outdo the original version but wanted the new version to be like an ode to the classic version. She added that they wanted a contemporary version with a gender twist.
They filmed the ad in Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and completed the shooting in two days. Kavya gives credit to the music of the ad’ Kuch Khaas ha’ as she believes that the music invoked the reaction in the viewers.
She also spoke at length about the hook shot in the ad. She said that she perfected the shot in a three-day coaching camp. She explained that there were little boys who were throwing multiple balls at her for practice to help her perfect the shot.
She also added that her fellow teammates were professional cricketers, and despite her flaws, they supported and encouraged her.
Prabhneet Singh deserves a special mention for emulating the same steps originally done by Shimona Rashi.
Original will always be original. But Cadbury India deserves a huge round of applause for their bold attempt to include such a sensitive concept without overdoing it.
It’s quite exciting to see the women taking the centre stage, rather than being a mede cheering spectator.
