Facing criticism on the internet for its recent marketing campaign titled 'Recycling Kachra’, popular online food delivery platform Zomato has taken down the advertisement from YouTube and other social media platforms. The campaign featured actor Aditya Lakhia, known for his portrayal of 'Kachra' in Ashutosh Gowariker's Hindi film Lagaan (2001), and drew backlash for allegedly dehumanising the Dalit character. In the ad, Zomato used the character of Kachra, whose name translates to waste, to symbolically represent him as garbage that can be recycled into everyday objects. The commercial depicts him as a human table, hand towel, lamp, flower pot, paper, paperweight, watering can, and various types of jackets.
Following the release of the ad on Monday, June 5, many people, including filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan, accused Zomato of promoting casteism. Neeraj took to Twitter on Thursday, expressing his displeasure by stating, "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!" Several others echoed similar sentiments, criticising the insensitivity and poor taste of the ad, and demanding its immediate withdrawal.
#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! https://t.co/xWUpDatUvD
— Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) June 8, 2023
Although the film Lagaan, starring Aamir Khan, is widely regarded as a modern-day classic and had a significant impact on Hindi cinema, it has also faced criticism over the years for tokenism, specifically in naming its only Dalit character as 'garbage' and denying him agency within his own story.
A Twitter user highlighted the contextual significance of Kachra's character in Lagaan and its implications within the larger spectrum of commercial entertainment in India. The user mentioned feeling uncomfortable watching the ad as it seemed to depict the character engaging in dehumanising and menial tasks, even if done figuratively as 'waste' rather than directly referencing his Lagaan character. While acknowledging the sly wordplay attempted by Zomato, the user found it challenging to separate the character's context from their perception while watching the actor perform those actions.
Usually, I'm a big fan of Zomato's marketing, mostly done in-house. But their new ad film, made for World Environment Day, made for an uncomfortable watch, at least for me - your mileage may vary.
— Karthik (@beastoftraal) June 6, 2023
I understand the intent: to use the 'Kachra' character from Lagaan for his name 1/5 pic.twitter.com/WmoYYS4grg
Casteist idea by Zomato to make an advertisement and humiliate a marginalised character “Kachra”. pic.twitter.com/nrXB2UF60R
— Harsh (@_ambedkarite) June 6, 2023
Some users attributed the alleged casteist nature of Zomato's campaign to a lack of diversity within the company, while others threatened to delete the app unless the ad was promptly removed, urging the platform to be more sensitive in retrospect. Additionally, calls have been made for filing an FIR (First Information Report) against Zomato for the casteist nature of the advertisement.
This extremely casteist campaign by Zomato is due to lack of diversity. I remember in 2017 when I told a HR in ad agency that I write for Dalit issues. She replied: “like Dalits really? Do they even exist in cities and all. Whoa. Never knew that” https://t.co/SHJVjzAqpM
— Anurag Minus Verma (@confusedvichar) June 7, 2023
Im deleting the app! @zomato NEVER USING Y’all for filling my stomach. The people who insult Dalits and other “backward” castes. Fyou honestly
— Saee| ✨ (@ineedblankspace) June 8, 2023
Remove the ad while you can! Be sensitive in the retrospect at least! You are losing customers anyways.
I urge my moots to delete it too
I wonder if this is caste ignorance or actual viciousness at the part of whichever ad agency that made this video. I’m shocked at how terrible this is. There should be a FIR against @zomato for this casteist advert. https://t.co/4U5sWK3sXY
— Manak Matiyani (@Dafliwala) June 8, 2023
Zomato, which took down the video on Thursday, issued a statement that the intention behind the campaign 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,” it said.
On world environment day, our intent was to spread awareness about the potential of plastic waste and benefits of recycling in a humorous way.
— zomato (@zomato) June 8, 2023
Unintentionally, we may have hurt the sentiments of certain communities and individuals. We have taken down the video.