India's multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company Zomato on Sunday apologised after the countrywide uproar and protest after the advertisement asking for "Mahakal ki Thali" in the name of world famous Baba Mahakal's city Ujjain. The company has also claimed to have taken off the film actor Hrithik Roshan starrer Ad.
The company issued a clarification about the advertisement in which the Hritik Roshan was seen ordering food from ‘Mahakal’ when he felt like having a 'thali', or food platter. Zomato said in a statement that the ad “referenced 'thalis' at 'Mahakal Restaurant', and not the revered Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple.”
The Mahakaleshwar or Mahakal temple of Shiva in Ujjain is one of twelve `Jyotirlingas' and is a revered place for Hindus.
Issuing a call to boycott Zomato, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti tweeted, "In an ad, @iHrithik says “Thaali khane ka man tha, Mahakal se mangaa liya"...Mahakal is no servant who delivers food to those who demand it, He is a God who's worshipped. Could @zomato insult a God of another religion with the same courage?"
The Gurgaon-based company said that the ‘Mahakal’ thali advertisement was part of its pan-India campaign in which top local restaurants in each city and their top dishes based on popularity were identified.
Mahakal Restaurant is one of our high-order-volume restaurant partners in Ujjain and thali is a recommended item on its menu, it added.
“We deeply respect the sentiments of the people of Ujjain, and the ad in question is no longer running. We offer our sincerest apologies, for the intent here was never to hurt anyone's beliefs and sentiments,” the statement read.
The apology comes after Boycott Zomato started trending on Twitter after two priests of Ujjain's Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple demanded immediate withdrawal of the advertisement featuring Hrithik Roshan. The priests said their prasad is distributed among devotees on a plate (thali) free of cost and is not something that can be ordered online through a food delivery app.
The priests also approached Ujjain district collector Ashish Singh seeking action against Zomato. Speaking to reporters, Singh, who happens to be the chairman of the Mahakal temple trust, said the advertisement was "misleading" as the temple offers free meals as `prasad' and cannot be ordered.