Bollywood stars get notices over surrogate pan masala ads

Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued show-cause notices to Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff for allegedly promoting pan masala through surrogate advertising. Tupaki.com reports that the notices were sent over their endorsement of a 'Vimal Elaichi' advertisement, which authorities claim indirectly promotes the banned 'Vimal Pan Masala' brand.

The FDA is investigating whether the ad constitutes 'surrogate advertising', a practice where companies promote a legal product like cardamom to build brand recall for a banned or restricted product like pan masala or alcohol. The notices are not a final ruling of guilt but seek an explanation from the actors. Further legal action will depend on their responses.