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Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has said that the celebrity status of Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff will not protect them from regulatory action in connection with a Vimal Elaichi advertisement. The three actors were issued show-cause notices by the Maharashtra FDA after the department stated that the advertisement amounted to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in the state.
Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe says, “Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff not shielded by celebrity status in Vimal ad case”
Speaking to NDTV, Mundhe said the FDA has already moved forward with adjudication and prosecution proceedings in the case involving one of the actors who did not respond to the notice within the stipulated period.
“According to you they may be stars, but according to me they are only advertisers in this case. So I am looking at them as violators of the law, and the law will take its own course. That’s why we have started taking action,” Mundhe said.
FDA issues notices to three actors
The Maharashtra FDA issued show-cause notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff on August 11, giving them 15 days to respond. According to Mundhe, two of the three actors responded to the notices, while one did not. He did not identify which actor failed to respond. “We have taken this action as per the law,” Mundhe said.
He further revealed that proceedings have already begun in the case where the actor did not submit a response. “In one case where they have not responded, we are starting the adjudicating and prosecution proceedings,” he said.
Mundhe was also asked whether Shah Rukh Khan’s team had responded to the notice. He said, “Most likely he has not responded, but I’m not too sure about it.”
Actors cite manufacturer’s responsibility
According to Mundhe, the two actors who responded to the FDA notices argued that the responsibility should lie with the manufacturer. The commissioner said their responses will be considered during the hearing process. “We are giving them a hearing. My officer, the assistant commissioner who issued the notices, will be giving the hearing,” he said.
Mundhe, however, rejected the argument that celebrities endorsing a product have no responsibility when the manufacturer is responsible for its production and sale.
“There are clearly advertising regulations as per the Food Safety Act. [The regulations] talk about who the advertiser is, and there is a responsibility very specifically cast upon the person or institution who is advertising. There is a responsibility cast upon the person who is advertising it, including to take due diligence about what he or she is endorsing. To say that it is not upon them is wrong… Not only morally, but legally I’m talking about, because I am here as a regulator,” he said.
The FDA’s action stems from its view that the Vimal Elaichi advertisement was a form of surrogate promotion for Vimal Pan Masala. Surrogate advertising refers to the promotion of a restricted or prohibited product through another product or brand associated with it.
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