#RasodeMeinMardHai- Pankaj Tripathi And Bail Kolhu’s Initiative Aims To Equalise Gender Roles In The Kitchen

The concept of #RasodeMeinMardHai normalises that cooking and all the tasks associated with it, such as planning, purchasing, prepping, serving, washing and cleaning up, are no gender-specific jobs.

New Delhi: The stereotype that the kitchen is a woman’s place is deeply enrooted and indoctrinated in our society. Wives are expected to take care of the household chores, alone. The #RasodeMeinMardHai, a social initiative launched by BL Agro, with its product Bail Kolhu and the brand Nourish under its umbrella, aims to bring about a change in this perception. It inches towards a more gender-equal era where men share the load in the kitchen, from stove to sink.

The concept of #RasodeMeinMardHai normalises that cooking and all the tasks associated with it, such as planning, purchasing, prepping, serving, washing and cleaning up, are no gender-specific jobs. It’s a life skill that every person should have.

Advertising concepts often use visual shortcuts to represent people, and those shortcuts have historically portrayed that a woman’s place is firmly in the kitchen. When women are stereotyped to such roles, it propagates the messaging that restricts their freedom and sets an unrealistic expectation of them.

The social initiative was unveiled with a TVC featuring Pankaj Tripathi, the Brand Ambassador of Bail Kolhu, the mustard oil brand by BL Agro, along with Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

During the event, Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi, Brand Ambassador of Bail Kolhu said, “Functional beliefs about the basic social category of genders, like men are the breadwinners and women are the caretakers, are threaded into our daily fabric. These topics are nuanced and complex, but they need an immediate mindset change, a sustained and systemic one. And that’s what the #RasodeMeinMardHai social initiative pushes. It weaves a different story and promotes a sense of responsibility in men towards the kitchen. Lending my voice to the initiative to shape a new narrative and smash the preconceived notion that women must shoulder all kitchen duties.”

For the unversed, Bail Kolhu is the name of the edible mustard oil product of BL Agro. It was started in 1986.

Cooking Collective Duty, Flip Gender Stereotype

Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Chairman, BL Agro said, “Why should the kitchen be only a woman’s job? That’s the thought we want to provoke with #RasodeMeinMardHai. We want to challenge conventions for the better. The concept is not just to liberate women from the confines of the stove and the sink. It’s also about accepting that cooking should be a collectively held duty. It’s our subtle attempt to flip the gender stereotype on its head and advocate for more progressive and inclusive culture. We hope to open the doors to a time when children grow up with the idea that both parents can cook and be masters of the kitchen.”

On choosing Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ashish Khandelwal, Managing Director, BL Agro said, “We wanted to make sure the fit was exemplary because it is the first time, you’ll see a TVC with three leading actors in the kitchen cooking. For that reason, we specifically chose Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpayee, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Their personalities and images not only mirror the Bail Kolhu brand but also resonate with the theme.”

BL Agro is based in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. It operates with over 58,000 retailers across India. Its Brand Nourish comes with a promise of nutrition and offers an entire range of food products typically used in an Indian kitchen, including Atta, Rice, Pulses, Ghee & Oils, Dry Fruits, Papad, Achars, Murabba, Spices, etc.

The campaign can be watched here