The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reportedly issued show-cause notices to Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over their advertisement for Vimal Elaichi.
The regulator has alleged that the campaign amounts to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, which is banned in Maharashtra. The action comes as part of the state FDA's wider crackdown on gutka and pan masala products containing tobacco or nicotine.
The show-cause notices were delivered to Ajay Devgn at his residence in Juhu and Shah Rukh Khan at Mannat in Bandra. Tiger Shroff was served the notice through his production company, Tiger Shroff Productions LLP.
In the notice issued this week, the FDA sought an explanation from the actors regarding their involvement in the advertisement, alleging that the campaign creates an indirect association with the Vimal Pan Masala brand and could amount to its surrogate promotion.
The notice stated that, upon examination of the advertisement, it prima facie appeared to promote the Vimal brand, which is mainly associated with Pan Masala, a product prohibited for manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale in Maharashtra for one year under a prohibition order issued by the Commissioner of Food Safety, Maharashtra State, on July 13, 2026.
The FDA has invoked Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, which bars misleading or deceptive advertisements concerning food products. It has also cited Section 53, which provides for a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh against those involved in publishing misleading food advertisements.
The notices issued to the actors are part of the Maharashtra FDA's broader drive to strengthen food safety enforcement across the state. The regulator has been taking action against several violations, including food and milk adulteration, the sale of unhealthy food products near schools, and the manufacturing and distribution of prohibited gutka and tobacco-containing pan masala.
In recent months, the FDA has stepped up inspections and enforcement efforts, conducting seizures and taking action against those found breaching food safety norms.
