Apple is no stranger to India — it’s been selling its products here for decades, and now even assembles its phones in the country. But its latest Diwali had has led to some strong reactions on X.
X users have criticized Apple’s new Diwali ad, calling it “disconnected”, “depressing” and even racist. The ad shows some dancers with deadpan moves pulling off strange Egyptian moves. The ad even has a cameo by Juhi Chawla, and is set to the 1990s hit “Roop Suhana Lagta Hai”.
X user Karthik, who goes by @beastoftraal, called the ad visually stunning, but said that its gaze felt international. “t celebrates the appearance of India without quite capturing the experience of being Indian. It plays more like a luxury fashion film than a Diwali ad rooted in how the festival is actually lived. Diwali isn’t just an aesthetically pleasing celebration of light. It’s family, rituals, food, noise, neighborhoods, memories, and many small human moments. The film captures India’s visual vocabulary beautifully (which makes sense for a camera demo), but it’s far less interested in its emotional texture,” he said.
Other users were far less forgiving. “Apple’s new Diwali ad captures very little of India as it actually is, but almost everything about how outsiders imagine India to be. Hey @Apple, Representation is not the same as understanding,” wrote X user Ankit Bhuptani.
Another X account called it racist. “This Is Apple Ad for Diwali. Why these foreign brands including many Indian brands features models intentionally brown & black and with weared depressed looks for Hindu festivals? This is what typical Racism looks like,” it said.
Another user said that Steve Jobs would’ve been disappointed with the representation. “This shows despite being in India for so many years and even manufacturing in India now Apple really doesn’t know India. Steve Jobs would hv been disappointed to see this depiction of Diwali! Diwali is family , happiness, light , food . Just lighting a few Diya’s is not Diwali!” said X user Vishal.
Member of Parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi also chimed in. “Only realised that Apple video going viral is for Diwali, till now I thought it was a photoshoot for some fancy international magazine that has just discovered Indian sarees,” she posted.
Investor Ravi Karkara said the ad hurt Hindu sentiments, and Apple should be ashamed for releaseing it.
The Apple Diwali ad is indeed quite odd. It shows women dancing with strange dance moves with completely deadpan expressions. That in itself is quite disconcerting — Diwali is supposed to be a festival of happiness and celebration, and to see dancers as though they’re at a funeral looked very strange. The black sarees also looked out of place — most people wouldn’t wear black for Diwali.
Perhaps the most problematic part was the Egyptian hieroglyph dance step — it appeared a vestige from the past, where the West looked at everything towards the East with a uniform gaze, and ended up lumping elements from two civilizations thousands of miles apart. It was as incongruous as an Indian brand making a Christmas ad for US audiences where everyone wore black and looked sad. The exaggerated head-bobs only made matters worse, and played up to Indian stereotypes. It seemed like something out of a bygone era, and not something Apple — as one of the most valuable companies in the world — should’ve been producing in 2026.