30 September,2026 07:03 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff pic via Instagram
Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff have responded to notices issued by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over their appearance in a Vimal Elaichi advertisement. The latest development comes weeks after the regulator questioned whether the campaign amounted to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala. Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has now confirmed that responses from all three actors have been received, while two of them also requested personal hearings.
According to reports by India Today, Hindustan Times and The Times of India, the three actors submitted their responses to the notices. Two actors sought hearings, which were completed on September 28. Mundhe said, "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."
The FDA had issued the notices on August 11 over the actors' appearance in a Vimal Elaichi advertisement. The regulator has alleged that the campaign could indirectly promote Vimal Pan Masala, which is prohibited in Maharashtra.
The dispute centres on the concept of surrogate advertising, in which a restricted product or brand is promoted indirectly through another product whose advertising is permitted. Business Standard explained that India's 2022 guidelines prohibit advertisements that use the brand name, logo, colours or presentation associated with a restricted product to indirectly promote it.
The Maharashtra FDA has questioned whether the Vimal Elaichi campaign could create an association with the Vimal Pan Masala brand.
The matter has also reached the courts. On September 14, the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition by Vimal Elaichi's master licensee, PB Agro LLP, challenging the FDA notices. However, the court did not rule on whether the advertisement amounted to surrogate advertising; it dismissed the case because the Delhi court did not have territorial jurisdiction over the Maharashtra-issued notices.
Ajay Devgn has been associated with Vimal's campaigns for several years. Shah Rukh Khan later joined the advertisements, while Tiger Shroff became part of the campaign after Akshay Kumar stepped away following criticism in 2022.
Ajay Devgn previously said he was endorsing elaichi rather than pan masala, while Khan had argued in an earlier interview that products considered harmful should instead be stopped from being manufactured or sold. The current FDA proceedings will determine how the regulator proceeds after considering the actors' responses and hearings.
For now, no final finding has been announced against Khan, Devgn or Shroff in the latest proceedings. The FDA has said it is moving forward with the matter after receiving the responses. The Vimal controversy therefore remains unresolved, with the next stage likely to focus on the actors' explanations and the regulator's assessment of whether the advertisement violated applicable rules.
