In Devita Saraf, Donald Trump Has Found ‘India’s Ivanka’

What Twitter is talking about today: This ad featuring Donald Trump and CEO of Vu TV, Devita Saraf.

Devita Saraf with Donald Trump. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@Devita Saraf)

US President-elect Donald Trump has found India’s Ivanka Trump.

A day before Trump’s inauguration ceremony, the Times of India featured a “yuuge” advertisement featuring Trump and Devita Saraf, the CEO and founder the Mumbai-based Vu Televisions.

A January 2016 Forbes article referred to Saraf as India’s “Model CEO”, a term that appears to have made it to her Twitter bio as well.

Devita Saraf is the CEO of Vu TV. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/@Devita Saraf)

Who is Devita Saraf?

The businesswoman, who belongs to the Marwari community, is the daughter of Raj Saraf, the founder of Zenith Computers. She completed an undergraduate programme in Business at University of Southern California before joining the company as its marketing director at the age of 21.

Devita Saraf became the youngest on the Fortune list of Top 50 Most Powerful. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/@Devita Saraf)

Saraf says she is a feminist entrepreneur. In an interview with YourStory, she said: “I don’t think you need to become a man to show you have power. I have been taken seriously as a leader and entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry while being unapologetically feminine.”

“Times have changed. Today, the bosses of several of India’s top banks are women,” her father told Forbes.

She made waves after she decided to step into the shoes of the brand ambassador of Vu TV, which was launched in 2006. “And I thought-why not give it a shot? Why do we need an expensive actor or sportsperson? After all, nobody is as passionate about Vu as I am but it had to look tasteful and appropriate,” she told Your Story.

Saraf is the brand ambassador of Vu TV. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/@Devita Saraf)

When Twitter Woke up to the Front Page Ad

Trump’s nickname for Saraf is disconcerting, as he has previously declared that he would date his daughter, Ivanka, if they weren’t related. The problematic comparison with Ivanka did not go unnoticed on Twitter. Many were quick to question the advertisement.

Journalist-entrepreneur Rohin Dharmakumar pointed out that Saraf appeared to have missed the CTA in the ad.

Saraf, however, took the criticism in her stride.

What is Her Connection With Trump?

The Times of India advertisement piqued everyone’s curiosity (including ours) about Saraf’s connection with Trump.

A full page advertisement on the Times of India costs approximately Rs 1.5 crore, a sales person working at the paper’s Delhi edition revealed.

In one of her replies on Twitter, Saraf said that she had previously met Trump and considers him to be a “great dad”.

When asked on Facebook whether Trump deserves a front page advertisement, Saraf responded with: “He is President. That says it all.”

The Quint reached out to Saraf but failed to get a response.