Zomato withdraws Hrithik Roshan's ad featuring 'Mahakal'

Ujjain : Zomato has announced that the company will be withdrawing its advertisement featuring Hrithik Roshan that allegedly hurt religious sentiments. "We offer our sincerest apologies, for the intent here was never to hurt anyone's beliefs and sentiments," the company said.

The clarification from the company came after a priest from Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain raised an objection to the company's latest ad in which Hrithik Roshan can be seen saying that it feels like the thali has been ordered from "Mahakal".

The priest has claimed that the statement offends Hindu sentiments; while the company has clarified that it was not in reference to the Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple, instead the ad "referenced 'thalis' at 'Mahakal Restaurant'.

"The video is part of its pan-India campaign for which we identified top local restaurants and their top dishes based on popularity in each city," the company said.

The Mahakaleshwar or Mahakal temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is one of the 12 'Jyotirlingas' in the country.