Maharashtra FDA issues notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff over pan masala advertisement
The three Bollywood actors have been given 15 days to explain their involvement in a Vimal Elaichi campaign that regulators claim amounts to surrogate advertising for a banned product.
Maharashtra FDA issues notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff over pan masala advertisement
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has issued notices to Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over their appearance in an advertisement for Vimal Elaichi, marking the first time the regulator has specifically examined a campaign from the perspective of surrogate advertising.
The notices, issued on Friday, require the actors to explain their involvement in the advertisement within 15 days, remove it from their social media accounts and provide details of their endorsement agreements with the manufacturer. The regulator alleges the campaign amounts to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, a product banned in Maharashtra.
Surrogate advertising uses the same brand name, logo or style on a legal proxy product to keep the main brand visible to consumers when direct advertising of the original product is prohibited. In this case, the advertisement promotes Vimal Elaichi, a cardamom product, using branding associated with the pan masala range.
The Vimal Elaichi advertisement featuring the three actors has accumulated over 106 million views on YouTube, demonstrating the campaign's extensive reach.
Notices were served to Devgn at his Juhu residence and to Khan at Mannat in Bandra, while Shroff received his through Tiger Shroff Productions LLP. The action follows a Maharashtra government order dated July 13, 2026, which prohibits the manufacture, storage, transport, distribution and sale of the product in the state for one year.
Broader enforcement campaign
The regulatory action comes as part of an intensified crackdown by Maharashtra authorities on gutka and pan masala products containing tobacco or nicotine. Between 2012 and 2026, the state seized prohibited tobacco products worth approximately ₹530.98 crore, registered 9,992 FIRs and filed 10,254 cases in courts related to gutka and pan masala violations.
The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 bars misleading or deceptive food advertisements under Section 24(1), with penalties of up to ₹10 lakh. This is not the first time celebrities have faced regulatory scrutiny over such endorsements. In 2023, several leading actors and cricketers were issued notices under Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act for promoting tobacco products through surrogate advertisements.
Public health concerns
The crackdown reflects serious public health concerns. Pan masala is a leading cause of oral submucous fibrosis, which often progresses to oral cancer, according to health experts and medical research. India reported over 83,400 cases of oral cancer in 2022, bearing the highest global burden of this disease, largely attributed to smokeless tobacco and areca nut consumption.
Despite regulatory risks, surrogate advertising remains prevalent in India's pan masala market, which was estimated to be worth approximately $5 billion in 2025 according to industry estimates. The substantial market size explains why companies invest heavily in celebrity endorsements.
Officials from the Maharashtra FDA have been conducting inspections and seizures involving several food safety concerns, including adulterated milk, food sold by restaurants, unhealthy products around schools and the manufacture and sale of banned gutka and tobacco-containing pan masala.
The notices do not amount to a finding of wrongdoing. The actors have been asked to provide their explanations to the regulator within the stipulated timeframe.
