Trending: Kerala travel vlogger applies sindoor on women’s forehead, faces backlash

The viral video shows the man visiting a temple with his foreign friends and applying sindoor to their foreheads.

Recently, a travel vlogger from Kerala, Maheen Shajahan, posted a video on Instagram showing him visiting a temple with his foreign friends and applying sindoor to their foreheads. The vlogger from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is facing intense criticism after posting a video of himself visiting a Hindu temple with foreign friends, which many called inappropriate and disrespectful to Hindu traditions.

Kerala travel vlogger faces criticism for applying Sindoor to foreign friends.

Shajahan shared a video on his Instagram, in which he is seen entering the Hindu temple with his friends and greeting them by placing a sindoor on their foreheads. He captioned the post, “Muslim boy in Kerala Temple; In Kerala, faith isn’t a barrier – it’s a bridge. As a Muslim visiting a Hindu temple with my foreign friends, I felt nothing but warmth, welcome, and peace. Here, in this lush corner of India, religious harmony isn’t just an idea – it’s lived every day. We respect. We celebrate. We share. Different paths, one love.” The clip quickly drew backlash online, with many netizens accusing him of misusing a sacred Hindu practice, including sindoor. It is considered highly symbolic and not something others should apply casually without context.

Watch the viral video here:

Shajahan clarifies on the matter.

In a statement given to Brut India, Shajahan clarified that none of the women in his video objected to his actions. In a video, he said, “I was very aware that married people put this (sindoor), but I wasn’t aware that this was such an important thing and no other person can put it. If I would have known, I wouldn’t have done that cause I’m a traveller and I try to respect all religions even though I don’t believe in religion.” He added that some were misusing his clip to fuel communal tensions and apologized to those whose sentiments were hurt. Shajahan also shared that at the temple, the priest handed them a plate of religious offerings, including sindoor. When he applied the sindoor to his friends’ foreheads, his Hindu companions present at the scene didn’t object and seemed perfectly comfortable with the gesture.

Netizens react to the viral video.

Many users reacted strongly to the video. However, a few took the vlogger’s side. One user wrote, “Why is there so much intolerance in India?” Another wrote, “It’s acceptable in movies, but it’s not for the reels.”