Throwback Thursday: Reminiscing Deepikaji's 'parkhi nazar' and Nirma Super

Long before the fancy single-use detergent capsules and spiffy liquid fabric wash, we had the humble detergent soap. In the Indian households of yore, these resilient bars along with the washing paddle and brush formed a formidable triad against even the toughest of stains. It used to be the mainstay of laundry back in the day when washing machines were a luxury only a few could afford.

But even this modest commodity saw stiff competition from rivals despite competitive pricing. Naturally, prudent housewives ensured that they spend their money on products that offered more for a lesser cost. Nirma Detergent Bar was posed as one such product.

India remembers Nirma as a truly Indian brand that offered value-for-money products. Started in 1969 by Dr Karsanbhai Patel, Nirma was sold door-to-door for Rs 3 a kilo, unlike HUL rival Surf, which was sold at Rs 13 a kilo. The simple soda ash-based formula was created by Dr Patel himself.

In the 80s, the company’s performance, according to its own website, was termed a “Marketing Miracle”, trouncing Surf and capturing a large part of the market share. The company released its first detergent soap in 1987.

Even to this day, when we think of the brand, three things come to mind: the twirling girl, the melodious jingle and, of course, Deepikaji.

She was fielded by Nirma as a foil to Surf’s Lataji who sought out quality over price. Deepikaji, played by the eponymous Deepika Chikhlia of Ramayan fame, wanted value for money instead.

Sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, the company released an iconic ad that remains deeply entrenched in our minds to this day.

Playing into the “prudent housewife” trope, Deepika arrives at a shop dressed in an immaculately white saree with a floral blue border. The shopkeeper delightfully hands over her monthly rations in a basket. She takes one look at the bar of washing soap sitting on top of the pile and says “Yeh nahi. Woh,” pointing towards Super Nirma Detergent Cake.

The puzzled shopkeeper wonders why she made the switch from her usual expensive detergent bar to a cheaper one. To this, she answers: "Leti thi. Lekin agar wahi mehenge daamo waali quality, wahi safedi, wahi jhaag, kam daamon main mile, toh koi yeh kyu le? Woh na le?” (I did buy it. But when I can get the same quality, whiteness and lather at a lesser cost, why could I still buy this (expensive detergent bar)? Wouldn’t I buy that (Super Nirma) instead?)

Then comes the iconic exchange that the 90s kids remember word for word since we have seen it so many times:

“Maan gaye” (Hats off!)

Kise? (Whom?)

Aapki paarkhi nazar aur Nirma Super, dono ko. (Your acumen, and Nirma Super both.)

The ad was created by Purnima Advertising.

The smart housewife is a common trope in Indian advertising for the 80s and the 90s since working women were few and far between back then. Budgeting for household products and making sane purchasing decisions was the onus of the lady of the house back then.

While little has changed on that front, today’s detergent products have departed from the “value-for-money” or “quality-over-price” proposition that we got to see in the yesteryears.

Today’s detergent brands want to stand for something bigger. Ariel has “Share the load” which espouses equality of domestic labour and Surf has its “Daag ache hain” campaign that subverts the whole “stains are bad” narrative.

Even Nirma followed suit. In 2011, the brand revisted its “Hema, Rekha, Jaya aur Sushma” jingle with a modern spin on it, showing the aforementioned women as something more than just housewives.

Despite the new outlook, very few can challenge the catchiness of the Deepikaji ad. In fact, CRED, which is known for channelling 90s nostalgia, reimagined the ad with Karishma Kapoor playing the central character.

The ad was a frame-by-frame parody of the orginal ad with Karishma mimicking Deepikaji’s intonation and facial expressions,