Ajay Devgn, Big B, Ranveer Singh and SRK face legal trouble for 'promoting gutkha, pan masala'

• Image Credit: Internet

• May 21, 2022 | Poonam Nath

Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ranveer Singh have all been charged with promoting the use of gutkha and cigarettes.

Digital Desk: In a case filed on Thursday before a Bihar court, actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn were accused of "promoting consumption of gutkha and tobacco." 

Ajay Devgn has been an ambassador for the tobacco brand Vimal for a few years, and Ranveer Singh has also sponsored the brand.

Last year, Shah Rukh Khan joined the team, and Amitabh Bachchan also signed on as a Kamla Pasand brand ambassador before parting ways with the company.

Tamanna Hashmi, a city-based social activist, filed the complaint in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Muzaffarpur, alleging that commercials starring these performers encouraged people to buy the products promoted.

Tamanna has also accused actor Ranveer Singh of "misusing his star status" by accepting to appear in gutkha and pan masala advertisements. 

The police should file an FIR against the actors under IPC sections 311 (punishment of a thug), 420 (cheating), and 467 and 468, according to the plea (forgery). The hearing will very certainly be heard shortly.

Following backlash from his fans, actor Akshay Kumar, who appeared in a tobacco brand Vimal ad, terminated relations with the company last month. Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan also appeared in the Vimal commercial.

Amitabh Bachchan's contract with Kamla Pasand, a tobacco brand, expired in October 2021. Amitabh's office issued a statement claiming that he was unaware of a few things. "When Mr Bachchan got connected with the brand, he was unaware it falls under surrogate advertising," the statement added.

He has since cancelled his contract with the brand, contacted them to inform them of his termination, and returned the promotional funds." In November, Amitabh gave the corporation a legal letter when it continued to run commercials featuring him despite the contract being terminated.

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