Ching’s Secret takes a sly dig at India’s Ozempic craze

Atlee’s new ad for Ching’s Secret condenses the tropes of a South Indian blockbuster into eight minutes. There is an evil mastermind, a national threat, and a heroic saviour.

But here, the villain is not a corrupt politician or terrorist; he is Professor White Noise (Bobby Deol), a pharmaceutical scientist peddling Shape Zero, a fictional drug that first dulls taste buds and then erases hunger.

As the nation succumbs to its addictive grip, the company folds and the professor disappears, only to resurface, kidnapping army jawans in a bid to lure out Agent Ching (Ranveer Singh), the human embodiment of Ching’s Schezwan sauce. Singh, hiding as an army chef in a snow-bound outpost, must restore taste and foil Shape Zero’s ambitions.

Reportedly costing Rs 150 crore, the ad is more than spectacle; it is a sly commentary on India’s fascination with rapid body transformations. The film never names them, but Shape Zero is a clear nod to GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, which have entered urban discourse as near-miraculous solutions for weight loss.

By exaggerating the effects of a “quick-fix” drug, the ad mirrors the cultural obsession with effortless slimming, turning it into a narrative both humorous and theatrical.

Hyperbolic humour is Ching’s Secret’s hallmark. From the flamboyant “My name is Ranveer Ching” music video to this ad, the brand consistently relies on exaggeration to connect with its audience. 

Here, Schezwan sauce becomes a symbol of taste, indulgence, and resistance against the lure of instant slimming. Singh wields sauce sachets as weapons, while Deol’s over-the-top villainy punctuates the film’s comic tone, reinforcing the brand’s irreverent identity.

By framing Schezwan sauce as the antidote to the obsession with rapid weight loss, Ching’s turns a conventional product pitch into a conversation about taste, indulgence, and the performative pursuit of the perfect body.