Following protests and objections from Mahakaleshwar temple and Madhya Pradesh’s Home Minister Narottam Mishra’s directions to police to investigate the matter, food delivery company Zomato announced that it would withdraw the controversial Hrithik Roshan-starrer advertisement and apologised for hurting their religious beliefs.

The priests of the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain city heavily criticised online food delivery firm for its advertisement in which Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan says he felt like having a ‘thali’ (food platter) in Ujjain so he ordered it from ‘Mahakal’. Devotees are served ‘prasad’ on a thali and the advertisement hurts the feelings of Hindus, the priests claimed.

“We offer our sincerest apologies, for the intent here was never to hurt anyone's beliefs and sentiments,” the company said.

After receiving backlash from Hindu religious leaders who claimed the ad offended their religious sentiments, Zomato issued a clarification saying “Mahakal Restaurant is one of our high-order-volume restaurant partners in Ujjain and thali is a recommended item on its menu.” It added, the ad referenced ‘thalis’ at ‘Mahakal Restaurant’, and not the revered Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple.

While demanding the withdrawal of ad, the priests from Ujjain temple approached Ujjain Collector Ashish Singh, who is the chairman of the Mahakal temple trust, and sought action against the food aggregator. The Collector on Saturday termed the advertisement as ‘misleading’ and said the temple offers free meals as ‘prasad’ and it is not sold.

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The state Home Minister Narottam Mishra has also instructed the police to look into the matter. Speaking to reporters in Bhopal on Sunday, Mishra said prima facie, the advertisement video being circulated on social media seems morphed.

“I have told Ujjain's Superintendent of Police to look into the reality of the video and report to me so that action can be initiated against the guilty,” Mishra told reporters.