Zomato takes down ‘Kachra’ campaign after backlash

The Zomato ad featured Aditya Lakhia, actor who played the character 'Kachra' in the movie 'Lagaan'. The internet called the campaign for being 'tone-deaf' and since has been taken down by the brand.

The food delivery app Zomato has deleted its recent ad featuring Aditya Lakhia, actor who plays 'Kachra' in the 2001 movie 'Lagaan'. The ad was released on World Environment Day and received backlash for being tone deaf.

The campaign titled ‘Zomato recycles Kachra feat. Kachra as Kachra’ featured Lakhia's character named 'Kachra' in the film as items made from recyclable waste or kachra. The campaign was slammed for drawing comparison between objects and waste and the marginalised character.

In a LinkedIn post, Karthik Srinivasan, a Communications strategy consultant mentioned how the ad made him feel uncomfortable and pointed out the nuances. 

Netizens had similar reactions to the ad, and many showed their disappointment in the brand. 

Also Read: Puneet Das spills the tea on Tetley’s changing relationship with young consumers

Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan pointed out that the brand was insensitive for using "one of the most dehumanised voiceless depictions of Dalits ever in cinema” to create a “repulsive casteist commercial”.

Soon after the uproar on the internet, Zomato took down the ad film from all their social media platforms and in a statement mentioned that their ‘intent was to spread awareness about the potential of plastic waste and benefits of recycling in a humorous way.’

On world environment day, our intent was to spread awareness about the potential of plastic waste and benefits of recycling in a humorous way.

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

— zomato (@zomato) June 8, 2023

Just like the original campaign, the brand’s statement garnered some mixed reactions from users as well.