Zomato apologised for their recent ad with Hrithik Roshan
A day after a Madhya Pradesh temple priest protested Zomato‘s courtship with Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, the online food delivery service issued an apology saying it had no intention of hurting feelings.
On Saturday, two of his monks at the Mahakaleshwar temple urged Zomato to withdraw the ad, claiming it offended Hindus. In the ad, Hrithik Roshan says he wanted a thali (meal) in Ujjain and ordered Mahakal.
In a statement, Zomato said that he who is worshipped is not the Mahakaleshwar Temple, but the thali is the recommended item on the menu of Ujjain’s Mahakal Restaurant. The Mahakaleshwar or Mahakal temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of twelve in the country, is one of Jyotirlinga’s and attracts many devotees.
Zomato said the ad in question is no longer running. “According to their popularity, this video was created as part of an All India campaign that identified the best local restaurants and their best cuisine. Mahakal Restaurant is one of the restaurants selected for the campaign in Ujjain. is one,” said the shipping company. “We deeply respect the feelings of the people of Ujjain and the ad in question will no longer run. We sincerely apologize that our intention here was never to hurt anyone’s beliefs or feelings,” Zomato said.
Ujjain collector Ashish Singh, chairman of the Mahakal Temple Trust, has criticized the ad, saying that devotees are being served prasad served on plates (thalis) for free, via food delivery apps. It states that it may not be something you order online.
Zomat’s boycott began on Sunday after two of his priests at Ujjain’s Mahakal temple demanded Zomato withdraw a commercial featuring Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan. The priests said their prasad was served free of charge to devotees in plates (thalis) and could not be ordered online through food delivery apps.
The temple priests Mahesh and Ashish said Zomat immediately dropped the complaint. , said they should apologize. Singh told reporters that the advertisement was “misleading” because the temple offers free meals as “prasad” and not for sale.”Mann Kiya, Zomato Kiya” In an ad titled, Hrithik Roshan, says he wants a ‘thali’. Since he is in Ujjain, I ordered a thali from Mahakal. Shiva’s Mahakaleshwar or Mahakal Temple in Ujjain is one of the 12 “Jyotirlingas” of him.
‘Mahakal se manga Liya..’, his new Zomato ad linking Mahakaleshwar Temple and food delivery sparks controversy, priest accuses ad of hurting Hindu sentiments. @zomato repeatedly insults Hindus,” said Hindu leader Janajagruti Samiti.
” There is only one Mahakal, a deity who is to be worshipped, not a servant who brings food to those who ask for it. Can @zomato insult another religion’s deity with the same boldness?” the organization tweeted. .
His Zomato ads by Hrithik Roshan are AI-powered ads that use the viewer’s location to localize ads. Therefore, only the person of Ujjain can see an ad where Hrithik Roshan ordered a ‘Thali’ for his Mahakal. If the place changes, the food will also change. Therefore, in many other versions of the same commercial, Hrithik Roshan can be seen ordering other dishes (mostly specialities of this place) from a famous local restaurant. Ujjain has a restaurant called Mahakal, that’swhat zomato said
It was revealed that the ad referred to the name of the restaurant rather than the temple. A day after a Wal temple priest protested an advertisement by online food supplier Zomato featuring Bollywood actor Rithik Roshan, Interior Minister Narotham Mishra said he had ordered the police to investigate the matter.
Mishra told reporters on Sunday that promotional videos circulating on social media appeared to have been altered. He asked Zomato to withdraw the ad after her two monks at the famous temple on Saturday claimed it offended Hindus. Zomato stated the controversy, saying it was withdrawing the ad.
“We sincerely apologize. Our intention here was never to hurt anyone’s beliefs or feelings,” the company said, noting that the ad was for Ujjain’s famous Mahakal restaurant, not the Mahakaleshwar temple. In the advertisement, Hrithik Roshan said he wanted ‘thali’ (plate) in Ujjain and ordered it from ‘Mahakal’.
“A look at the promotional video circulating on social media shows that some changes have been made.The monks also contacted Ujjain collector Ashish Singh, head of the Mahakal Temple Trust, and asked him to take action to ensure the Hindu religion. He said he tried to object.No longer tease.
Collector Singh on Saturday called the ad “misleading”, saying the temple offers free meals under the name “prasad” and is not for sale. The Mahakaleshwar or Mahakal temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is one of the 12 ‘Jyotirlingas’ in the country and attracts a large number of devotees.
The ad, which Zomato said has now been taken down, shows Hrithik Roshan saying, “Thali khan ka man tha, Mahakal se manga Liya (I was craving a plate, I ordered it from Mahakal).” In response to the ad, many social media users claimed that it was offensive to Hindu sentiments because it mentioned the free thalis offered at Mahakaleshwar and Mahakal temples in Ujjain.
In a statement Sunday, Zomato clarified that the announcement referred to “thalis,” a suggested dish on the menu at the Mahakal restaurant, which has been described as one of its “high-quality partner restaurants.” great visitor” in Ujjain – not “the revered Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple”.
The Gurgaon-based company also said the ad was running using a “specific Ujjain pin” and that the video was part of an “all-India campaign” in which it identified “the best local restaurants and their best dishes by the popularity in each country”. city. “We deeply respect the feelings of the people of Ujjain and the advertisement in question is no longer running. We offer our sincerest apologies, as the aim here is never to hurt anyone’s beliefs and feelings,” the statement read.
Priests Reaching DC, Real Merchants Corps. show behaviour
At least two priests of the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain – one of the twelve “Jyotirlingas” – had previously asked Zomato to remove the ad because it offended Hindu sentiments. “Zomato should remove the ad immediately. Devotees are served prasad on the thali, and this announcement hurt the feelings of the Hindus.
So the company should also apologize for hurting their feelings,” temple priests Mahesh and Ashish told PTI news agency. The priests also reached out to Ashish Singh, Ujjain District Collector and Chairman of the Mahakal Temple Trust, and demanded action against Zomato to ensure that no other company mocks Hinduism. Future.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) also disputed Zomato’s complaint against Hrithik Roshan. “Mahakal’s Prasad Thali has been free to the public since centuries ago, but only at certain locations on the temple grounds. It’s out of the question,” Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Merchants Association, said in a video statement on Sunday.
However, this is not the first time Zomato has gone on his own after controversy. In 2019, the company faced a decision to allow customers to order only ‘halal’ food. That same year, the company was criticized for its handling of customers who complained about being assigned a Muslim delivery partner, saying, “There is no religion in food. It is religion.”
Then, in August 2021, the company was forced to clarify after an ad starring actors Rithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif was criticized for “abusing” its delivery partners. After claiming last October that zomato the company announced a new customer in Tamil Nadu state was denied a refund for an item not included in the order because he did not speak the “local language” (referring to Hindi),
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
