The NCSC also sought an action taken report from Delhi police over Zomato’s marketing campaign which portrayed Kachra, a Dalit character from the 2001 film ‘Lagaan’, as recycled ‘garbage’.

news Controversy Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 18:13
Written by  TNM Staff

Taking suo motu cognisance of the widely panned Zomato advertisement titled ‘Recycling Kachra’ which was criticised by many as “casteist”, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Monday, June 12, issued a notice to the food delivery company. “[The] Commission has decided to investigate/inquire into the matter in pursuance of the powers conferred upon it under Article 338 of the Constitution of India,” read the notice. Article 338 empowers NCSC to investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes under the Constitution and other laws.  The Commission has also sought an action taken report (ATR) from the Delhi Commissioner of Police and the Resident Grievance Officer for YouTube.

On June 5, on the occasion of World Environment Day, Zomato released an ad featuring actor Aditya Lakhia, who is known for his portrayal of the character ‘Kachra’  in Ashutosh Gowariker's iconic Hindi film Lagaan (2001). In Lagaan, Kachra belongs to a Dalit community, living on the fringes of the village. The film itself has also been criticised for its insensitive portrayal of the Dalit character.   

In the ad, which was part of their marketing campaign titled 'Recycling Kachra’,  Zomato used the character, 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.

The ad, which equated a Dalit character to “garbage”, was widely panned for being insensitive and casteist, and for portraying the character in a dehumanised manner. Several people including filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan, who himself belongs to a Dalit community, had strongly criticised the advertisement. “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!” Ghaywan wrote on Twitter. Several others echoed similar sentiments and demanded the withdrawal of the ad.

Following the barrage of criticism, Zomato took down the video on June 8. In a statement, Zomato 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. Unintentionally, we may have hurt the sentiments of certain communities and individuals. We have taken down the video.” 

Sign up to get Daily Wrap in your inbox

* indicates required

EmbedCode