Bollywood’s biggest stars Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff have landed in a fresh controversy surrounding the promotion of pan masala. The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has issued show-cause notices to the actors over their advertisement for Vimal Elaichi, with the regulator alleging that the campaign amounts to surrogate promotion of a banned product.
According to the notice issued on August 11 by the FDA’s Greater Mumbai division, the advertisement prima facie amounts to indirect or surrogate promotion of prohibited pan masala and tobacco-related products. The regulator’s core objection is around branding: the use of the term “VIMAL Elaichi” in the ad appears to create an association with the Vimal Pan Masala brand, which could mislead consumers while indirectly promoting the prohibited product.
The FDA didn’t mince words, calling it a “final warning,” and stating the advertisement appeared prima facie to be misleading and in violation of food safety provisions, alongside potential violations of surrogate advertising rules under other laws.
What has the FDA asked the actors to do?
The notice, which names all three actors as brand endorsers, gives them 15 days to respond. Specifically, the FDA has directed the actors to immediately stop their participation in and endorsement of the ad, and to take down promotional content from their own social media handles, websites and other platforms. They’ve also been told not to assist further in broadcasting, publishing or promoting the ad in any form, and to submit details of the due diligence they carried out before signing on to the campaign.
What exactly is surrogate advertising?
Surrogate advertising is a workaround brands use to skirt India’s ban on directly advertising tobacco and liquor. Instead of promoting the actual product, a company markets a “sister” item — often elaichi, mouth freshener or soda — under an identical brand name and packaging, banking on consumers making the mental link to the banned product anyway.
Not the first time
Earlier, Akshay Kumar faced a similar backlash for endorsing the brand and later withdrew from the campaign, donating his endorsement fee to charity. Ajay Devgn has previously defended his association with the campaign, calling it a personal choice. However, celebrities across the sports and film industries have repeatedly drawn flak and faced legal notices for promoting pan masala and other brands linked to tobacco companies.