Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Orient Electric's 'Chalta Hai Se Azaadi' Ad Challenges Everyday Compromises
In India, people sometimes use a phrase called 'chalta hai', which means something like 'it's okay' or 'good enough'.
Orient Electric made a short movie for Independence Day about how grown-ups say this too much.
In the movie, a little boy watches his father pay a traffic policeman so he does not get into trouble.
He watches his mother pay for shopping using a torn 200-rupee note.
He watches his grandfather throw a packet on the ground instead of into a bin.
Every time, the adults say 'chalta hai'.
Because of this, the boy learns that breaking small rules is fine.
Later, the boy is about to put the Indian flag on the floor and says 'chalta hai' too.
His parents are shocked because the boy is simply copying what they taught him.
The movie's message is that small excuses can become bad habits, so we should say 'chalta hai' no more.
Orient Electric's Independence Day campaign is a 60-second commercial titled #ChaltaHaiSeAzaadi.
The ad shows a young boy learning the 'chalta hai' attitude from his father's bribe to a traffic cop, his mother's payment with a damaged Rs 200 note, and his grandfather's casual littering.
The campaign argues that the small compromises adults make can quietly become habits for the next generation.
The commercial was directed by Karan Chawla and produced by Akankksha.
The ad closes with 'Chalta tha, ab nahi chalega' and ends with a table fan from the brand sitting behind the national flag.
- Who
- Orient Electric, which released the commercial; it was directed by Karan Chawla and produced by Akankksha.
- What
- An Independence Day commercial campaign called #ChaltaHaiSeAzaadi that criticises the everyday 'chalta hai' attitude by showing a boy copying his family's small dishonest acts.
- When
- Around the Independence Day advertising season; the article references India's Independence Day, which falls on August 15.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- To argue that small compromises adults make teach children habits, and that change must begin with stopping excuses for one's own small lapses.
Traditional Patriotic Advertising
Civic Responsibility Advertising
Independence Day campaign theme
Traditional Patriotic Advertising
Brands should mark Independence Day with patriotism, the freedom struggle, and grand declarations of national pride, as Britannia and Ambuja Cement have done.
Civic Responsibility Advertising
Independence Day ads should focus on everyday behaviour such as honesty and responsibility rather than grand patriotic set pieces.
Role of the product in the ad
Traditional Patriotic Advertising
Appliance brands often tell consumers why their fans, wires and other products are superior to the competition.
Civic Responsibility Advertising
The product should stay in the background so the idea can take centre stage, as Orient Electric does.
- Brand
- Orient Electric
- Campaign
- #ChaltaHaiSeAzaadi
- Ad duration
- 60 seconds
- Director
- Karan Chawla
- Producer
- Akankksha
- Closing line
- "Chalta tha, ab nahi chalega"
- Final shot
- A table fan behind the national flag, its breeze making the Tricolour flutter
- Reference campaigns
- Britannia's 2023 "1947% More History", Ambuja Cement's "Saare Jahan Se Achha", and Doordarshan's 1980s "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara"