Richa Chadha blasts Delhi restaurant for denying entry to woman wearing saree

A video of a restaurant allegedly refusing entry to a woman wearing a saree contending the attire did not come under the `smart casual` category has gone viral on social media, with the restaurant drawing flak from people.

New Delhi: Actor Richa Chadha has lashed out at the Delhi restaurant, which has come under fire for not allowing entry to a woman as she was wearing a saree. According to the woman, the staff members at the restaurant told her that they only let in those wearing smart casuals and saree does not fall under it. 

Venting out her anger at Delhi restaurant Aquila on the matter, Richa wrote in her tweet, "This snobbery- denouncing our traditional clothes, looking down upon our own languages is the residue of post-colonisation trauma. It also creates a fertile breeding ground for fascism that exploits this very trauma. The Sari is smart, your policy isn’t! #SariNotSorry #Aquila."

A video of the incident, which was shared by woman - Anita Choudaary in a Facebook post, shows purported video of her argument with the restaurant staff, alongside a couple of pictures of herself in the saree. "In one of the restaurants in Delhi, saree is not considered to be a smart outfit. The restaurant's name is Aquila. We argued over saree, and a lot of excuses were made, but I was not allowed to enter the restaurant, because the Indian attire -- saree is not a smart outfit. "I have never been insulted like this. I also feel hurt," she wrote.

After the video went viral, the Aquila restaurant at Delhi's upscale Khel Gaon Marg has drawn flak for its 'no saree' rule for patrons. "Seriously. Such eating places have no right to even exist in independent India. I am sure the license needs to be cancelled for such restaurants/clubs who are against ethnic wear," wrote one.

"Denying entry because the patron is dressed in torn, shredded jeans or is wearing inappropriate footwear is perfectly understandable, but refusing entry for being draped in a saree is absolute stupidity. The management of the restaurant-bar should be strictly penalised for this action," wrote another.

The restaurant has since been review-bombed on Zomato and receiving flak from people over its treatment of customers.  

Zomato has put up a message for patrons on the restaurant's page that reads: 'This restaurant is receiving a lot of media attention due to recent events. We are monitoring all reviews closely to ensure that they comply with our content guidelines."

On the other hand, the restaurant claimed the incident was misrepresented and said the establishment believed in 'honouring our Indian community and have always welcomed our guests in all dress codes from modern to traditional'.

Speaking of Richa Chadda's work front, the talented actress was last seen in the thriller web series 'Candy' with Ronit Roy. She will next be seen 'Six Suspects', which is based on Vikas Swarup’s 2008 novel of the same name.