Maharashtra authorities have directed Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff to immediately stop appearing in surrogate advertisements for a brand allegedly associated with the banned betel-nut mixture ‘pan masala’.
The action comes as Maharashtra steps up food safety enforcement across the state, including Mumbai. The state Food and Drug Administration has also asked the three actors to provide an explanation within 15 days.
Although the actors promoted a Vimal clove product, authorities said the brand is directly associated with pan masala, making the advertisements potentially a form of surrogate advertising.
Surrogate advertising is a marketing practice in which a legal product is promoted using the brand name, logo or identity of a prohibited product, allowing the banned product’s brand recognition to remain in the public eye.
The authorities have asked the actors to remove the advertisements from their social media accounts, refrain from supporting their further promotion and provide details of their promotional agreements with the manufacturer.
Representatives of Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff have not commented on the matter. Vishnu & Company Trademarks, which owns the Vimal brand, has also not issued a statement.
The advertisement featuring the three actors has reportedly received more than 106 million views on YouTube.
