Maharashtra's food safety authorities have issued a notice to three top Bollywood actors for appearing in advertisements for a cardamom brand that is primarily associated with a prohibited betel nut product, as India intensifies regulatory scrutiny of surrogate marketing practices.
Maharashtra's food safety commissioner has directed Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff to cease appearing in advertisements for Vimal cardamom, asserting that the campaign constitutes surrogate advertising for a banned pan masala product. The state's Food and Drug Administration issued the warning, stating that the advertisements promote consumer recognition of a prohibited betel nut mixture sold in small packets and believed to be harmful, particularly when combined with tobacco. Health experts have identified pan masala as a significant contributor to oral fibrosis, which frequently develops into oral cancer.
Surrogate advertising involves promoting banned or restricted products by marketing legal proxy items under the same brand identity. In this case, manufacturers use cardamom as the ostensible product while maintaining brand visibility associated with the primary pan masala business. According to the notice, one of the Vimal advertisements featuring the three actors in a festive celebration has garnered 106 million views on YouTube. The state has directed the actors to remove these advertisements from social media platforms and provide details of their endorsement agreements within 15 days.
This enforcement action reflects Maharashtra's broader food safety drive under newly appointed commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, who has suspended restaurant licenses and closed outlets for hygiene violations. The state previously shut four Domino's locations and multiple warehouses operated by major grocery retailers. India's pan masala market is valued at approximately 5 billion US dollars as of 2025. The federal government has previously expressed concern about surrogate advertising practices, with India currently drafting stricter regulations to restrict such marketing techniques, though these rules remain pending finalization.
