'Boycott Zomato' trends as Ujjain priests demand apology over Hrithik Roshan ad

Priest Mahesh Sharma (right) claims the Zomato ad featuring actor Hrithik Roshan has hurt religious sentiments. (Image credit: ANI)

A new Zomato ad featuring actor Hrithik Roshan has now stirred a new controversy as priests from Ujjain have demanded an apology from the food delivery company for showing a restaurant named "Mahakal" serve non-vegetarian food.

“Thali ka mann kia, Ujjain mein hai, toh Mahakal se manga lia (Felt like having a Thali. We’re in Ujjain, so ordered from Mahakal,” Hrithik Roshan says in the advert which has allegedly hurt sentiments of priests at Mahakal temple in Ujjain. On Saturday, they demanded that Zomato withdraw the ad as it offends Hindu sentiments.

According to priests, Mahakal temple does not deliver any thali, demanding that both Zomato and Hrithik Roshan apologise for the ad.

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One of the priests, Mahesh Sharma, told news agency ANI, "Mahakal temple does not deliver any thali. Zomato and Hrithik Roshan must apologise for this ad," said priest Mahesh Sharma.

"The company has made misleading publicity about the Mahakal temple in its advertisement. The company should think before issuing such advertisements," he said, adding that the ad hurt religious sentiments.

Meanwhile, Zomato issued a clarification stating that by "Mahakal" they meant a popular local restaurant and not the temple. The company also stopped running the ad.

"The Hrithik Roshan-starrer ad that ran in specific pin codes of Ujjain referenced ‘thalis’ at ‘Mahakal Restaurant’, and not the revered Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple," Zomato stated in a tweet. "Mahakal Restaurant is one of our high-order-volume restaurant partners in Ujjain, and thali is a recommended item on its menu."

The Hrithik Roshan-starrer ad that ran in specific pin codes of Ujjain referenced ‘thalis’ at ‘Mahakal Restaurant’, and not the revered Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple. (1/n)

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It added that the video is part of a pan-India campaign for which the app-based food aggregator identified top local restaurants and their top dishes based on popularity in each city and Mahakal Restaurant (simplified as ‘Mahakal’) was one of the restaurants chosen for the campaign in Ujjain.

"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," Zomato stated.

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