Zomato eats dirt after its 'Kachra' campaign causes outrage

Due to its insensitivity, Zomato's most recent advertising campaign, dubbed "Kachra," has drawn harsh condemnation from online users.

The billboard, which purported to encourage waste recycling, received a barrage of criticism online for equating the term "kachra" (which means waste) with the marginalised character of the same name from the Bollywood film Lagaan.

The advertisement featured the Lagaan character 'Kachra' played by Aditya Lakhia.

The online meal delivery service withdrew the advertisement as a result of the apparent response and charges of encouraging casteism.

The purpose of the campaign was to highlight the business's efforts to protect the environment by switching to plastic-neutral deliveries. It included the actor in a variety of recycling-related scenes, including those using a repurposed hand towel, a flower pot constructed of related materials, and paper.

The purpose of including the figure in the advertising campaign was to raise awareness of the problem of food waste and the difficulties encountered by disadvantaged groups in society.

Zomato removed the promotional video from their YouTube channel as the backlash grew.

Neeraj Ghaywan, the director of the film Masaan said, “#Kachra from #Lagaan was one of the most dehumanised voiceless depictions of Dalits ever in cinema. @zomato has used the same character and made a repulsive #casteist commercial. A human stool? Are you serious? Extremely insensitive!"

Madhureeta Anand, film director, tweeted, "That is just so offensive. One has to wonder who these people are who created the advert, approved it and put it online without once thinking about it."

Another one responded on twitter, "The only kachra (garbage) that this stinks of is privilege."