SRK, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff respond to FDA notice over Vimal Elaichi ad
Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff have responded to the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) notices over their Vimal Elaichi advertisement, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has said. Two of the three actors also sought a hearing, both of which have now been completed, with the regulator saying it is proceeding further in the matter.
"Regarding those notices, responses from all three have come. Two of them had asked for a hearing. Their hearing was finished yesterday, and we are proceeding further," Mundhe said in Mumbai as per an ANI report.#WATCH | Mumbai: On notices to Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over Vimal advertisement, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe says, "Regarding those notices, responses from all three have come. Two of them had asked for a hearing. Their hearing pic.twitter.com/0MV5yNtNuaβ ANI (@ANI) September 29, 2026
The development comes weeks after the Maharashtra FDA issued show-cause notices to the three Bollywood actors over their appearance in a pan masala advertisement. The regulator alleged that the campaign amounts to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in Maharashtra.
The notices sought explanations from Khan, Devgn and Shroff on their roles as brand endorsers and asked why legal action should not be initiated against them. The FDA had also sought documents related to their endorsements, including contracts, campaign briefs, remuneration details and evidence of due diligence.
The FDA invoked Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which deals with misleading and deceptive food advertisements. It has also cited Section 53, which provides for a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh for anyone who is party to the publication of a misleading food advertisement.
The regulator maintained that celebrities endorsing such campaigns cannot automatically distance themselves from responsibility by pointing to the manufacturer or advertiser. Mundhe had previously said that advertising regulations place a responsibility on the person or institution promoting a product, including a duty of due diligence.What the FDA notice said
The FDA's notice mentioned that, upon examining the advertisement, "prima facie appears" to promote the Vimal brand, which is mainly associated with pan masala. The regulator pointed out that pan masala is prohibited in Maharashtra under a prohibition order issued by the Commissioner of Food Safety.
The notices gave the actors 15 days to submit written explanations along with supporting documents. The FDA also directed them to stop participating in the campaign and remove promotional content related to the advertisement from their official social media accounts.
The FDA has described the action as part of its scrutiny of surrogate advertising. The regulator is examining whether a product such as elaichi is being used in advertising to maintain an association with a pan masala brand that cannot legally be promoted in the state.FDA action against pan masala and gutkha
The action against the three actors comes amid the Maharashtra FDA's broader crackdown on gutkha and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine. Maharashtra has prohibited the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of such products in the state.
The FDA has also been coordinating with police in cases involving organised networks dealing in banned gutkha, tobacco and nicotine-containing pan masala, including invoking the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in eligible cases.
Mundhe has repeatedly maintained that the action is not about targeting individual celebrities but about applying advertising and food-safety regulations to those who endorse products. He had previously said that celebrity status does not exempt endorsers from legal responsibility.The Vimal endorsement history
Ajay Devgn has been associated with Vimal campaigns for several years. Shah Rukh Khan joined the campaign, while Tiger Shroff later became part of the endorsement after Akshay Kumar stepped away from it.
Kumar had faced backlash over his association with the brand in 2022 and subsequently apologised, announced that he was stepping away from the endorsement and said he would donate his endorsement fee to a cause.
Devgn had previously defended his association with Vimal, saying in a 2022 interview that he was endorsing elaichi rather than pan masala. Shah Rukh Khan has also previously addressed questions around celebrity endorsements, arguing that products considered harmful should be stopped from being manufactured or sold rather than placing the responsibility solely on actors.advertisementWhat happens next?With responses from all three actors now received, and the hearings requested by two of them completed, the Maharashtra FDA is moving ahead with the next stage of the proceedings.
The regulator has not yet announced the final outcome of the proceedings against Khan, Devgn and Shroff. The current action concerns the FDA's allegation that the Vimal Elaichi campaign amounts to indirect or surrogate promotion of a prohibited pan masala product.- EndsALSO READ | You are not 'just an actor' when your face ends up selling pan masala
