Food tech giant Zomato was recently criticised for its latest 'Mahakal Ki Thali' advertisement, which allegedly offended the Hindu sentiments. Amidst the backlash, the food delivery company issued a clarification, saying that they will soon be withdrawing the ad. "We offer our sincerest apologies, for the intent here was never to hurt anyone's beliefs and sentiments," the company stated. It all began when Zomato came up with a commercial where Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan was seen saying that he felt like having a 'thali' in Ujjain, so he ordered it from 'Mahakal' restaurant. "Thaali khane ka mann tha, Mahakaal se manga liya," he said in the ad.
This commercial has reportedly hurt the Hindu sentiments, claimed the priests at Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple. For the unversed, the famous Mahakaleshwar temple (dedicated to Lord Shiva) - which happens to be among the 12 Jyotirlinga in India - is situated in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The priests then approached Ujjain's Collector Ashish Singh (also the chairman of the Mahakal temple trust), seeking action against the food tech giant.
Clarifying their usage of the term 'Mahakal', Zomato stated that it referred to 'Mahakal Restaurant', and not the Holy 'Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple'.
"The video is part of its pan-India campaign for which we identified top local restaurants and their top dishes based on popularity in each city," the company said. It also mentioned that in the research, they found Mahakal restaurant is one of the "high-order-volume restaurant partners" in Ujjain and "thali" is the recommended item on the menu.
"We deeply respect the sentiments of the people of Ujjain, and the ad in question is no longer running," the statement further read.
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