Kursi of power vs kursi of people—Nilkamal chair ad is clever in its politics

Nilkamal’s plastic chairs have sat through India’s weddings, neighbourhood meetings, and feasts. The brand’s new ad makes the product an object of reverence.

A still from the Nilkamal chair ad | YouTube screengrab

When a bull walks across the screen with a throne-like chair strapped to its back, you know exactly what season it is in India. The opening image of Nilkamal Furniture’s new 49-second advertisement doesn’t mention elections because it doesn’t have to. One look at that “chair of power” and the viewer fills in the blanks.

With its ‘Yeh Kursi Hai Mahaan’ campaign, Nilkamal takes one of the most charged symbols in the country’s public life—the chair—and flips it. At a time when brands chase trends or force themselves into political chatter, the company circles back to the product that built its identity: the iconic plastic chair.

Using AI and a script heavy on metaphor, the video positions the reliable, steady Nilkamal chair as the opposite of the slippery, ever-changing seat of political ambition.

The humble chair

For decades, Nilkamal chairs have sat quietly through some of India’s most ordinary and intimate moments—meals, weddings, neighbourhood meetings, and waiting rooms. The brand’s new ad treats that everyday object with unexpected reverence.

The ad pulls viewers back to the familiar: A chair that doesn’t wobble with shifting fortunes, doesn’t demand blind loyalty, and doesn’t betray the person resting on it.

In Indian political vocabulary, the word ‘kursi’ (chair) works as a synonym for power and ambition.

Jameel Khan’s voiceover leans into that symbolism: “Ek kursi taakat ki… kabhi aasman ki sair karaati hai toh kabhi zameen par phenk deti hai… chanchal, chatur kursi (One is the chair of power… at times, it flings one into the skies and sometimes it drops one to the ground… this fickle, clever chair).”

And then the ad pivots. Nilkamal presents its own chair—one that is steady and unshaking. A pregnant woman sits on it under the shade of a tree, and the ad ends.

Suyash Khabya, chief creative officer at The Womb, the creative agency that conceptualised the ad, pointed out that the scene was intentional.

“It charges you with emotions that if this chair is safe and comfortable for a pregnant woman, it is safe for everyone else,” he told ThePrint.

A product of tight deadlines

The video is AI-generated, but it serves a narrative purpose. The visuals exaggerate the ‘political chair’ without leaning on real politicians or overt references.

“The elections were scheduled. Not just Bihar, the BMC elections are happening in December. So, we thought of drawing parallels between the two chairs,” Khabya added.

He explained why the team chose AI for the campaign, describing the ad as a product of tight timelines and an idea too expensive to shoot traditionally.

“We had to spend too much money and resources to shoot the concept, and it wasn’t fitting in our delivery timeline, so we took the AI route,” Khabya said.

Brand: Nilkamal
Agency: The Womb
Director: Suyash Khabya

Views are personal.

(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)