Now Reading: Murmu urges film stars to avoid endorsing harmful products
-
01
Murmu urges film stars to avoid endorsing harmful products
President Droupadi Murmu has appealed to film celebrities to refrain from endorsing products harmful to health. Speaking at the 72nd National Film Awards in Gujarat on Tuesday, she said true stars spread…
President Droupadi Murmu has appealed to film celebrities to refrain from endorsing products harmful to health. Speaking at the 72nd National Film Awards in Gujarat on Tuesday, she said true stars spread light, not darkness, and that artists have a powerful influence on young minds.
Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe backed the President's call. On Wednesday, he said on X that influence is not immunity and that no one is above the law. The FDA had on August 11 issued notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff over a Vimal Elaichi advertisement alleged to be surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, which is prohibited in Maharashtra.
The Delhi High Court on September 14 declined to entertain a challenge to the notices on territorial grounds. Public health experts quoted by The Hindu have called for clearer legal frameworks to regulate endorsements of harmful products, including tobacco and ultra-processed foods.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Hindu builds its report around public health experts and data on tobacco's economic toll, framing the President's appeal as a catalyst for stronger regulation that the current self-regulatory model has not delivered. The other three outlets anchor on Tukaram Mundhe's enforcement action and his repeating of the President's message, treating it as a law-and-order story about a zealous regulator. All four sources report the FDA's notices as a fact, but The Hindu alone adds that the court did not rule on whether the ads were surrogate. The Bharat stage of the story will move when the high court hearing on the merits takes place.
Coverage: 4 sources, 1 pro-government, 3 neutral
Sources (4): thehindu.com (pro government), newindianexpress.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), hindustantimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 4 sources.
