Trending News: Zomato has faced criticism and withdrawn an advertisement that depicted a Dalit character in a way that received massive backlash from social media users. The ad by the online food delivery platform, released for World Environment Day, showed the character Kachra literally as Kachra (trash), made out of recycled waste items. However, the portrayal was deemed offensive and hurtful to certain communities by the majority of the public.
The ad featured actor Aditya Lakhia, known for his role as Kachra in the hit 2001 film Lagaan starring Aamir Khan. In the film, Kachra, which means garbage in Hindi, is depicted as a disabled character who faces social exclusion until he becomes a crucial member of Bhuvan’s cricket team and helps the villagers win a match against the British to escape land tax.
Zomato's intention behind the advertisement was to highlight its voluntary waste recycling efforts. However, the depiction of the character performing tasks with recycled items, such as a lamp, table, paper, and watering can, received criticism for perpetuating stereotypes and dehumanizing tasks.
Following the backlash and calls for a boycott, Zomato decided to remove the controversial ad from all its social media platforms. Take a look at some of the comments from outraged netizens below:
The company acknowledged that it had unintentionally hurt certain communities with the ad and took immediate action to address the issue.
