Indian online food delivery aggregator Zomato pulled up for controversial ad

Indian online food delivery aggregator Zomato has been served with a notice from the National Commission For Scheduled Castes for a controversial ad that many found to be casteist, Indian media reported.

The food delivery app had to take down its advertisement that depicted an actor who played the Dalit character Kachra in the film Lagaanas items made of recycled waste.

The ad drew parallels between the character Kachra and "kachra"(the Hindi word for garbage), and was aired on World Environment Day on June 5.

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Soon, ‘Boycott Zomato’ started trending on social media, forcing the company to retract its ad. It also issued an apology for "unintentionally" hurting certain communities.

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

The Gurgaon-headquartered company said its intent was to "spread awareness about the potential of plastic waste and benefits of recycling in a humorous way".

However, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes was not impressed with the apology and ordered to investigate the matter as it issued a notice to Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal.

"In case the commission does not receive a reply from you within the stipulated time, the commission may issue summons for your appearance in person," the notice to Zomato founder read, according to NDTV.

What is the issue all about?

Kachra is a character that appears in the Hindi movie Lagaan, a historical sports drama starringAamir Khan. It was released in 2001.

In the movie, Kachra, played by actor Aditya Lakhia, belongs to a marginalised community and is shunned by his fellow villagers. Because of his special ball-spinning techniques, he is chosen by Bhuvan, played by Khan, and ends up playing a pivotal role in the main match against the British team.

The controversial ad

In the nearly 120-second-long ad, Lakhia was portrayed as a lamp, paper, paperweight, watering can, and various types of jackets, conveying the message that garbage can be recycled and turned into useful items.

"When recycled, "kachra"can become many things,” Zomato told viewers through the ad.

Sly humour gone wrong

Communications strategist Karthik Srinivasan told PTI news agency that Zomato attempted a play on the word "kachra" without thinking about its consequences.

"There's a context to Kachra's character in 'Lagaan', and within the larger spectrum of commercial entertainment in India, on how castes are portrayed, and how Dalits, in particular, are portrayed or stereotyped," he told PTI.

He added that Zomato attempted to mine a “kind of sly humour” from the name for waste upcycling/recycling.

(With inputs from agencies)

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