Mumbai: Dairy giant Amul has firmly denied a viral claim that its legendary mascot, the beloved blue-haired Amul Girl, was inspired by Shashi Tharoor’s sister, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan. The clarification comes after a widely circulated video claimed that a childhood photograph of Ms. Srinivasan served as the visual reference for the now-iconic character.

“We wish to clarify the Amul Girl illustration is not influenced by Ms Shobha Tharoor. She was created by Mr Sylvester daCunha and illustrator Mr Eustace Fernandes,” said the brand’s official customer care team, responding to the viral video posted on X.

The claim originated from a video posted by a user named Sanjay Arora, who alleged that during the 1960s, when Amul was still an underdog in India’s butter market, the company’s advertising agency had been scouting for a baby girl to serve as its mascot. According to the video, Shobha Tharoor was selected after over 700 candidates were rejected, supposedly making her the first-ever “Amul baby.” 

In response to the buzz, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan confirmed on X that both she and her sister did, in fact, appear in early Amul print campaigns, with their photographs taken by acclaimed filmmaker Shyam Benegal.

"Yes I was the first Amul baby. Yes #ShyamBenegal took the photos. My sister @SmitaTharoor was in the 2nd colour campaign. We may have. But we don’t know,” she posted on X.

However, she clarified that while she and her sister were featured in Amul advertisements as children, she is unsure whether their images directly inspired the creation of the illustrated mascot.

The Amul Girl was officially introduced in 1966, conceptualised by Sylvester daCunha and illustrated by Eustace Fernandes. The design, a cheeky, wide-eyed girl with blue hair and a red polka-dotted frock, was meant to be a bold and satirical alternative to Polson Butter’s soft and delicate branding. Paired with the now-famous slogan “Utterly Butterly Delicious,” she has since appeared in over 4,000 topical ads, often commenting on politics, sports, cinema, and social issues with wit and humour.

Interestingly, Shashi Tharoor himself has previously written about his sisters’ appearance as Amul babies in early campaigns. He later featured in an Amul cartoon ad following his entry into politics.