The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a show-cause notice to Bollywood ctors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff for indirectly promoting pan masala, a prohibited product in the state, through an advertisement.
The three actors had come together for an advertisement promoting elaichi (cardamom) of Vimal, a pan masala company, in 2024.
In a show-cause notice issued by the Tukaram Mundhe-led Maharashtra food safety body, the actors were directed to immediately discontinue their participation in the campaign and remove all promotional content related to the ad from their official social media handles.
“Upon examination of the said advertisement, it prima facie appears that the advertisement promotes the VIMAL brand, which is mainly associated with Pan Masala, a product prohibited for manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale in the State of Maharashtra,” the nine-page notice, which was accessed by NDTV, read.
It said the expression, ‘VIMAL Elaichi’, in the advertisement has been used in a way which “appears to create an association with the VIMAL Pan Masala brand”.
It “may mislead consumers” and “indirectly promote” the brand identity of the prohibited product, the notice read, while invoking the state-wide prohibition order that strictly bans the manufacture, storage, distribution, and sale of pan masala within Maharashtra, citing public health and safety regulations.
“If the use of the “VIMAL” brand under the name of Elaichi or a similar product is intended to maintain, reinforce or enhance the brand identity and consumer attraction associated with Pan Masala/tobacco related products, such communication may not merely constitute an advertisement for an independent product, but may amount to indirect or surrogate promotion of a prohibited/restricted product,” the notice said.
Mundhe’s FDA — which has been cracking down on the manufacture or sale of gutka and other banned tobacco products — also demanded full copies of their endorsement agreements, campaign briefs, payment arrangements, and proof of due diligence.
Under the cited consumer protection laws, misleading endorsements can attract penalties ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, and the endorsers can be banned from endorsing any products for up to three years.
In 2022, actor Akshay Kumar had apologised to fans after he faced backlash for appearing in an ad for Vimal Elaichi with Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn.