'I'll Think Twice...": 'Lagaan' Actor Aditya Lakhia Opens Up On Backlash For Zomato's Controversial 'Kachra' Campaign
Actor Aditya Lakhia is famous for playing the character of ‘Kachra’ in Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Lagaan' which also starred Aamir Khan.
Actor Aditya Lakhia is famous for playing the character of Kachra in Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Lagaan' which also starred Aamir Khan. 'Lagaan' had released in theatres in 2001, but if you go on Twitter now, you would see the hashtag ‘Kachra’ trending. Now, it has been 22 years since the release, so you would ask why is ‘Kachra’ trending on social media? For the unversed, Aditya Lakhia who played the character of ‘Kachra’ reprised his character for a new Zomato campaign.
However, as soon as the campaign was shared online, it received widespread criticism with many calling it "dehumanising".
Now, the actor himself has opened up on the controversial campaign.
"Now I’ll think twice before (signing an ad). (Advertisers) should put me as Aditya and not as Kachra. It can take a different turn altogether. I mean it would be okay if Kachra promotes a soft drink but it is not okay if Kachra says no to plastic. There is a thin line,” Aditya said in a chat with News18.
After receiving criticism, Zomato pulled down the ad and issued an apology. The now-deleted video had Aditya Lakhia, reprising his character of ‘Kachra’ from Lagaan (2001), and the campaign showed the importance of recycling kachra (garbage).
"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," Zomato had said in its statement.
Actor Aditya said that he is also ready to offer an apology.
"I would also say that if it has hurt a section of people and if an apology is required then I’ll give it. As an actor, what can I say," said Aditya.
"The way we all looked at it was Kachra promoting anti-plastic and to recycle garbage. But it took another turn. It became controversial so now it’s banned. That’s it. I don’t want to say anything further. We tried to do something positive and it just took another turn which we didn’t know it would," he added.
The actor also mentioned that the campaign “was not for any money” and it was supposed to be a "positive campaign which obviously backfired.”
