Maria B slammed for Clothing Shoot in Private Graveyard

Fashion designer Maria B was criticised by a member of the Abbasi family of Bahawalpur for posting and then deleting images and videos of a campaign shoot taken at their family graveyard.

The images were showcasing the designer’s latest collection, Roohi.

Pictures from several Bahawalpur sites were used in the campaign.

In it, the models are shown wandering and twirling around in various locations, one of which was recognised as the private graveyard of the royal family of Bahawalpur.

Changez Khan, a descendant of the last nawab’s son Sahibzada Mohammad Daud Khan Abbasi, accused Maria B of conducting an unauthorised photoshoot.

In one Instagram Story, Khan said:

“This outline is my Nana’s grave. This model is literally dancing on my grandfather’s grave!”

This led to outrage on social media, with individuals slamming Maria B.

Maria B later issued an apology on Instagram. The statement read:

“The recent shoot for our brand was planned and executed by a production house with the concept of showing our magnificent cultural heritage in Bahawalpur.

“The shoot was edited and published without any prior knowledge about the significance and sanctity of the site.”

The brand said they are “grateful to the people who have pointed out this mistake and we have taken immediate action by removing all the relevant content”.

It added: “Our heartfelt apologies to all those who were understandably distressed by this unfortunate incident.”

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The graves of the Abbasi Nawab family heads are located in the historic Royal Cemetery in Ahmadpur Sharqiya Tehsil of Bahawalpur.

Only those who visit the graves to pray are permitted there, as well as members of the Abbasi family.

Bahawalpur was governed by the Abbasi dynasty from 1690 to 1955.

Speaking about the incident, Khan said:

“The area is our private property and a historic graveyard of my maternal family.

“The campaign shows a shot of a model twirling on the grave of my grandfather.

“The newer generation of the Abbasi family, including my aunts and grandfather, is buried there.

“Yet, Maria B trespassed on our private property without permission. This is both horrible and unethical.”

Khan was told by the graveyard’s caretaker that ladies visited the graves to pray, thus he allowed them to enter the grounds.

He said: “However, I’m not sure if the caretaker is telling the truth. He might have been bribed.

“We’re still investigating, but the place is known and it is evident that it is a cemetery, so it is unacceptable for Maria B and her team to be this insensitive.”

Khan shared that they reached out to Maria B, only for her to blame the incident on her team.

“She said that she wasn’t aware of the location and it was her team who shot there.

“She told them to shoot at the famous Derawar Fort, which is close to the cemetery, but the team decided to also shoot at my family’s property.”

The family has now requested the designer to publicly apologise.

Khan added: “We’re not looking for any monetary benefits.

“The family only wants someone to take responsibility for this.

“I’m glad Maria B has removed the post but we want to set this as an example that it is unethical and illegal.

“We want a public apology and if not, then we will file a case against her.”