New Tide spot reminds of 'Pooja' from the movie 'Dream Girl'

The detergent brand's new face, Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana, is seen in a cross-gender role in the latest ad for Tide Ultra.

Remember 'Pooja' from Ayushmann Khurrana's 2019 film 'Dream Girl'? Well, she's back!

Bollywood star Khurrana, Tide's new brand ambassador, plays a similar cross-gender role in the laundry detergent brand's latest ad film.

In the film, the ‘modern husband’ is seen walking in with Italian mozzarella cheese ravioli towards the ‘birthday girl’ (both the characters are played by Khurrana himself). Instead, he is greeted with ‘Happy Holi’ by the Pooja-like character.

The voice-over of the female character in the ad (played by Khurrana) has an uncanny similarity with that of Pooja from Mauji’s call centre. The character of Mauji was played by Rajesh Sharma in 'Dream Girl'. Mauji’s call centre entertained the fantasies of people, mostly men who didn't have a life partner.

And, that’s not all. Towards the end of the ad, a third family character also makes an appearance. This new member, an older man, is also played by Khurrana himself.

The film for Tide Ultra was conceptualised by freelance script writer Shreyas Jain.

In a press release issued by the brand, Khurrana said, “I have loved watching the witty Tide ads all these years. For my first advertisement with the brand, we came together and tried to push the envelope, attempting something unique and engaging. You can see me play the roles of multiple family members in a warm, fun narrative. And this is just the start!”

The 35-second-long film launches the partnership between the actor and the P&G-owned detergent brand. Khurrana will be seen in a series of advertisements by the brand across television, digital, and other mediums in future.