Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff were issued notices by the district consumer disputes redressal forum in Jaipur for appearing in allegedly misleading pan-masala advertisements.
The actors, along with JB Industries chairman Vimal Kumar Agarwal, were directed by the commission to furnish a response after a complaint by Jaipur resident Yogendra Singh Badiyal who argued that the company deceived consumers and violated advertising norms by making unrealistic claims.
They are required to appear before the forum on March 19 to address the allegations.
Badiyal, reportedly an activist and a lawyer, questioned the company's claim of using an expensive spice like saffron in a pan masala pouch that costs Rs 5, which was endorsed by the actors.
As per LawChakra, the complainant stated, “The three actors, including Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, and Tiger Shroff, advertise it to increase its sales. It is claimed in the advertisement that it contains saffron. However, the truth is that the price of saffron is around 4 lakh rupees per kg, while their pan masala with tobacco pouch costs just Rs 5. In such a situation, forget about adding saffron; even its fragrance cannot be added.”
He further added the company is making a profit "worth crores of rupees while ordinary people are risking their health by consuming the harmful and fatal combination of pan masala with tobacco, known as gutkha."
"This mix is detrimental to health, and the manufacturing company is fully aware of this. In this context, they are deliberately promoting it by asserting that it contains saffron to mislead the public. Therefore, this advertisement should be banned,” the complaint said.
This is not the first time that Shah Rukh and Ajay Devgn were issued notices for appearing in allegedly misleading gutka advertisements. In 2023, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued notices to both, along with actor Akshay Kumar, for endorsing gutka products in surrogate advertisements.
Earlier, Amitabh Bachchan, who received backlash for his involvement in surrogate advertising, terminated his contract with a popular pan masala company and returned the money he was paid while claiming he wasn't aware it was surrogate advertising.
In 2016, actor Pierce Brosnan was called out for endorsing Pan Bahar, following which he claimed that the company deceived him, and later promised to work against such advertising campaigns in future. Interestingly, Tiger Shroff was once involved in endorsing Pan Bahar too, and so did Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu.