Food delivery app Zomato has not once, but multiple times found itself in soup. Earlier, #RejectZomato trended online after its customer care blamed a Tamil customer for not knowing Hindi.
Well, this time around, furious people are slamming them by using #Boycott_Zomato for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of a group of people in the country.
It all happened when the food delivery giant released a new ad featuring Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan. In the ad, people alleged that Hrithik Roshan mocked the renowned Mahakal temple.
The ad in question, which is part of a series of ads, features Roshan along with others playing the role of security forces on a mission. He orders food from Zomato and says, “Thaali khane ka mann kiya Ujjain me toh Mahakaal se manga liya (wanted to have a food platter in Ujjain so I ordered it from Mahakaal)” when the food gets delivered to their location.
However, his statement irked a lot of people online.
Zomato and Hritik Roshan testing the patience of Hindus !
Just because Hindus don't issue #SarTanSeJuda call does not mean one can hurt the feeling of Hindus time and again !
Hindus demand apology from Zomato !#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal #Boycott_Zomatopic.twitter.com/iYFZiQzSS4
— Guruprasad Gowda (@Gp_hjs) August 21, 2022
#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal #Boycott_Zomato
👉Zomato should have to think before while doing such kind of ad related to hindu religion in secular india‼️ pic.twitter.com/EfQDf9aoAX— Snehal Patil (@SnehalPatil4SP) August 21, 2022
#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal#Boycott_Zomato
In Zomato Ad
Actor says
“Thaali khane ka man tha, Mahakaal se mangaa liya”.Mahesh, the temple priest said that the actor and the advertisement had hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community and insulted the Mahakaleshwar temple. pic.twitter.com/7DHRDzRvED
— Rashmi Krishna (@rakshabhatkn) August 21, 2022
Collector and chairman of Mahakal temple committee Ashish Singh said that the temple prasad plate can be taken only in the Mahakal temple. The plate is not sent anywhere.
All Indian Temple committees should protest against this Zomato ad#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal #Boycott_Zomato pic.twitter.com/ALtCFnHbat— bpshrinath (@bpshrinath) August 21, 2022
#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal
According to the reports,the Hindu saints of the Mahakaleshwar temple have condemned the advertisement in which the actor says, “Thaali khane ka man tha, Mahakaal se mangaa liya (I wanted to have a thaali, I ordered it from Mahakaal)”.#Boycott_Zomato pic.twitter.com/k4tDVbSVVy— Ganesh Pansare (@GA_Pansare) August 21, 2022
A certain section of people wanted to boycott Zomato and urged them to issue a public apology. Moreover, the committee members of the said temple also said that the Thali can only be eaten inside the temple premises. So, the claims that Zomato is making in the ad that it can be delivered anywhere in the city, are also false.
Following this massive backlash, the food aggregator issued a public apology and also took down the advertisement. They said in a statement that the ad references ‘thali’ at ‘Mahakal Restaurant’ and not Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple.
We have something to share – pic.twitter.com/6e1wVIpvIz
— zomato care (@zomatocare) August 21, 2022
Having said that, they also offered their sincerest apologies as they never intended to hurt anyone’s sentiments.
While the ad in question has been taken down, watch this video for context:
For the uninitiated, the Mahakal temple (Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple) is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India.
What do you think of this incident? Let us know.