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Business News/ News / India/  Netizens reject Zomato's apology, Boycott Zomato trends on Twitter
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Netizens reject Zomato's apology, Boycott Zomato trends on Twitter

Zomato removes controversial World Environment Day ad featuring a Dalit character, but faces backlash for being casteist as netizens call for a boycott.

A still from Zomato's 'Kachra' campaign.Premium
A still from Zomato's 'Kachra' campaign.

Apologising for unintentionally hurting sentiments, food delivery platform Zomato has removed its controversial ad that featured on World Environment Day. However, despite removing the objectionable advertisement, "#BoycottZomato" again started trending on Twitter on Friday morning.

Netizens have continued to slam Zomato for being casteist as the food aggregator depicted an actor, who played the Dalit character Kachra in the film "Lagaan" as items made of recycled waste.

Zomato's advertisement which has now been removed from YouTube and social media platforms had tried to draw a link between the character Kachra with 'kachra', the Hindi word for garbage.

The ad, aiming to show the food delivery company's recycling efforts, was termed "disgusting", "blatantly casteist", and "extremely insensitive" by netizens on Twitter. "Masaan" director Neeraj Ghaywan, filmmaker Madhurita Anand and Dalit historian Karunyakara Lella were among those who spoke out.

"#Kachra from #Lagaan was one of the most dehumanised voiceless depictions of Dalits ever in cinema. @zomato has used the same character and made a repulsive #casteist commercial. A human stool? Are you serious? Extremely insensitive," Ghaywan wrote on Twitter.

Filmmaker Madhurita Anand wrote in reply to Ghaywan's tweet: "That is just so offensive. One has to wonder who these people are who created the advert, approved it, and put it online without once thinking about it."

As ire grew and the ad came under attack on social media for being casteist, the company issued an apology from its official Twitter handle and said the intent was to "spread awareness about the potential of plastic waste and benefits of recycling in a humorous way".

"Unintentionally, we may have hurt the sentiments of certain communities and individuals. We have taken down the video," it said.

In the nearly two-minute ad, actor Aditya Lakhia, who played the character in the 2001 hit film, is depicted as a lamp, paper, paperweight, watering can, and different types of jackets -- the accompanying text detailing how much recycled 'kachra' was used to make each item.

In the 2001 blockbuster film "Lagaan", based on a cricket game, Kachra was a polio-affected Dalit. When Aamir Khan's character Bhuvan insists on adding him to the cricket team after spotting his spinning skills, upper caste members in the film blatantly rejected the idea as he was considered "untouchable". However, it was Kachra who ended up playing a crucial role in the cricket match.

The company in its now-deleted ad on YouTube also claimed it has "recycled 20 million kg of plastic kachra so far".

"Zomato voluntarily recycles more than 100% of the plastic used to package orders and keeps it out of landfills. This 20 million kg of plastic waste, recycled in FY 23 under our 100% plastic-neutral deliveries initiative, can be turned into many items of immense value. We believe in the power of recycling, and kachra – the best spinner in the entire British Raj – do as well," the description of the ad read.

The food delivery company has found itself on the wrong side of marketing in the past as well.

In 2017, an outdoor ad campaign in major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru showed Hindi expletives "MC, BC" as abbreviations for mac n' cheese and butter chicken.

The company later withdrew the ad after backlash on social media.

In 2022, Zomato pulled down an advertisement featuring actor Hrithik Roshan who was shown to be craving a “thali" (food platter) in Ujjain so he ordered it from “Mahakal".

Priests of the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh objected, claiming that it offended Hindu sentiments and demanded its withdrawal. Zomato later apologised clarifying that the “Mahakal" reference was for a restaurant and not the temple.

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Published: 09 Jun 2023, 07:47 AM IST
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