Mallya yet to take decision on withdrawing controversial ad

       New Delhi, Jul 19 (PTI) UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya is
 yet to take a decision on withdrawing a controversial
 advertisement which shows Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni
 "mocking" at spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has slapped a legal
 notice against the group.
       Mallya said that they were considering the notice served
 on them by Harbhajan's lawyers and made it clear that the
 spoof was not targetted at the ace Indian spinner.
       "We are studying the notice at the moment and have not
 taken any decision on withdrawing the advertisement. We will
 respond to the notice soon," Mallya told PTI over phone.
       Mallya said his company has been involved in sports for a
 long time and it was unfair to interpret the spoof as an
 insult to Harbhajan.
       "Our company has a professional set-up and had a good
 profile. We have been involved in sports for a very long time
 and it is wrong to interpret the ad as any sort of target
 against Bhajji," he said.
       "It is a humorous ad and definitely it is not targetting
 at anyone. There have been so many TV commercials which are
 humorous but nobody objects to those. So why should people
 object to this ad," he said.
       Mallya also said felt the rival brand may be creating
 this controversy and dragging Harbhajan into it.
       "It seems that the rival brand is behind this, not
 Harbhajan. They are creating this controversy. This is a
 campaign by Harbhajan's company," he said.
       The UB Group chairman also made it clear that he had
 immense respect for both Dhoni and Harbhajan and there was no
 question of creating any rift between the two.
       "I want to make clear that there is absolutely no
 intention to create any rift between the two. We are all proud
 of them as top class international sportspersons. There is no
 question of damaging the personal relationship," Mallya said.
       "I have been a sports lover and this is not something
 which I will ever do. The ad is just humour and it should be
 taken in that spirit," he said.
       The United Spirits was yesterday served with a legal
 notice by Avtar Kaur, Harbhajan's mother, through his lawyers,
 Dewani Advocates & Consultants.
       Harbhajan's lawyers, in the legal notice, claimed that
 the commercial mocks the off-spinner, his family and the
 Sikh community.
       While sending the notice for ad spoof, the off-spinner's
 mother Avtar Kaur said these kind of advertisements bring
 "disunity and friction" in the Indian team and can be termed
 anti-national.
       The notice demands that the company publicly apologise to
 Harbhajan's family "through widely-read newspapers as well as
 television channels prominently" apart from removing the
 advertisement within three days of receiving the notice.
       Apart from Mallya, the notice has been sent to UB
 Executive Vice Chairman SR Gupte, President & CFO Ravi
 Nedungadi, Deputy President Harish Bhat and Executive VP
 (Corporate Affairs) Nandini Verma. It also seeks a
 compensation of Rs 1,00,000 to the cricketer's family towards
 the cost of the notice.
       Harbhajan and Dhoni endorse rival brands. The Indian
 skipper in an McDowell's No 1 Platinum advertisement
 allegedly makes fun of Harbhajan, who had featured in a
 advertisement for Royal Stag.
       Both Royal Stag and McDowell's No 1 are competing whiskey
 brands in the market, coming in the same price band. The ads,
 however, are for the soda brands. PTI MRM
 ANJ