Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff have responded to show cause notices issued by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration over their appearance in a Vimal Elaichi advertisement.
The latest development was confirmed by Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe on September 29, with reports published on September 30. Mundhe said that the authority had received responses from all three actors. He also confirmed that two of the actors had requested personal hearings and that those hearings had been completed. The commissioner did not identify the two actors who requested the hearings.
The FDA is now moving forward with the matter. The notices were issued in August in connection with the actors' appearance in an advertisement for Vimal Elaichi, a cardamom mouth freshener associated with the Vimal brand.
The Maharashtra FDA has alleged that the advertisement could amount to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala. The regulator's concern is that the use of the Vimal brand name and presentation of the elaichi product could indirectly promote a pan masala product that is prohibited in Maharashtra.
The notices asked the actors to explain their roles as brand endorsers and respond to the FDA's concerns. According to reports, the regulator also sought documents connected with the endorsement arrangements, including contracts, campaign briefs, remuneration details and information relating to due diligence undertaken before the actors participated in the campaign.
The case concerns an advertisement featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff. The campaign promotes Vimal Elaichi, which is marketed as an elaichi or cardamom product. However, the FDA has questioned whether the advertisement indirectly reinforces the Vimal Pan Masala brand.
The regulator's position is based on its interpretation of applicable food safety and advertising provisions. The Maharashtra FDA has cited provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, including rules concerning misleading advertisements. Reports have also said the regulator referred to penalties that can apply to misleading food advertisements.
The FDA's action does not mean that the actors have been found guilty of an offence. The notices are part of a regulatory process in which the actors have been given an opportunity to explain their roles and provide relevant documents. The authority is now expected to examine the responses before deciding on any further action.
Mundhe had earlier taken the position that celebrity endorsers can have responsibilities in advertising and cannot necessarily avoid scrutiny by saying that responsibility lies entirely with the manufacturer or advertiser. The FDA has argued that endorsers should carry out appropriate due diligence before associating themselves with products and campaigns.
The controversy has also involved the wider issue of surrogate advertising in India. Surrogate advertising refers to promotional activity in which a brand associated with a restricted or prohibited product is promoted through another product or category. Regulators have previously examined advertising campaigns where the branding of a product that cannot be directly advertised appears prominently in advertisements for another product.
In this case, the Maharashtra FDA has said that the Vimal branding is strongly associated with pan masala and has questioned whether the Vimal Elaichi advertisement creates an indirect promotional association.
The notices were issued after the FDA examined the campaign and raised concerns about the advertisement's presentation. The actors were given a specified period to submit their explanations. The regulatory process subsequently continued with responses from the celebrities and requests for personal hearings from two of them.
The latest confirmation is significant because the FDA had earlier indicated that responses from the three actors had not all been received at the same stage of the proceedings. The commissioner's latest statement confirms that written responses from all three are now with the authority.
However, the FDA has not publicly identified which two actors requested and completed the personal hearings. Reports quoting Mundhe have specifically noted that the commissioner did not name them.
The Vimal endorsement has previously attracted public attention because of the involvement of several prominent Bollywood actors. Ajay Devgn has been associated with the Vimal brand for several years. Shah Rukh Khan subsequently appeared in Vimal campaigns, while Tiger Shroff also became associated with the advertising campaign.
The brand's celebrity associations have been discussed in the entertainment industry for several years. In 2022, actor Akshay Kumar faced criticism over his association with the Vimal campaign and later announced that he was withdrawing from the endorsement. He also said that he would donate his endorsement fee to a cause.
Ajay Devgn has previously stated that his association was with Vimal Elaichi rather than pan masala. His position has been reported in connection with earlier discussions about the brand's advertising.
The present proceedings are separate from the earlier public debate and focus specifically on the Maharashtra FDA's show cause notices and the actors' responses.
The matter has also reached the courts. PB Agro LLP, which describes itself as the master licensee for Vimal Elaichi and non tobacco pan masala products under the Vimal brand, approached the Delhi High Court challenging the Maharashtra FDA action. The Delhi High Court dismissed that petition on territorial jurisdiction grounds, holding that Maharashtra was the appropriate forum for challenging the action taken by the Maharashtra regulator. The court did not decide the merits of whether the advertisement amounted to surrogate advertising.
The legal and regulatory questions surrounding the advertisement therefore remain open. The Maharashtra FDA will have to consider the responses submitted by the three actors and the material provided during the proceedings before determining what further steps, if any, should be taken.
The latest development does not represent a final decision by the regulator. Instead, it marks another stage in the proceedings following the issuance of the show cause notices.
For Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff, the immediate issue is their response to the FDA's questions concerning their participation in the Vimal Elaichi advertisement. For the Maharashtra FDA, the focus remains on whether the campaign breached applicable rules relating to food advertising and indirect promotion.
The case is likely to remain under scrutiny as the regulator examines the actors' responses and supporting documents. Any future action will depend on the findings reached by the Maharashtra FDA after considering the material submitted by the actors and other parties involved in the advertising campaign.
At present, the confirmed position is that all three actors have responded to the notices, two requested personal hearings, and both hearings have been completed. The FDA has said that it will proceed further with the matter.
