Tukaram Mundhe Missile Descends On Shahrukh, Devgan And Tiger Shroff

Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has admonished three top Bollywood actors over their appearance in a surrogate advertisement for a Pan Masala brand. Actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff are thus violators of the law in the eyes of the FDA, Munde has thundered in a TV channel interview.  The controversial advertisement is of Vimal Elaichi mouth freshner. In the frank questions-answer session, Mundhe has made it abundantly clear that for law, no celebrity status matters neither does it accord protection from legal proceedings. Hence, the three actors are treated as advertisers in this legal context. The FSSA of India Act requires endorsers to observe due diligence regarding the products they promote. Accordingly, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff received official show-cause notices from the Maharashtra FDA. The notices said the Vimal Elaichi campaign acts as a surrogate promotion for Vimal Pan Masala, which is banned in Maharashtra. The FDA directed the actors to stop the campaign and delete promotional content from social media. Munde revealed that while two actors have responded to the notice, one is yet to do so. He pleaded inability to name the individuals concerned, saying that the file for the case was with one of his subordinates. Munde has been hitting the headlines ever since he took over as FDA chief. Significantly, the state government has desisted from making any comment about his campaign, which has rubbed many in high places the wrong way.