Maharashtra FDA notices Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan, Tiger Shroff

MUMBAI: The Vimal ad has landed in hot water. The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued show-cause notices to Bollywood actors Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger Shroff over their participation in Vimal Elaichi advertisements, questioning whether the campaign amounts to indirect promotion of Vimal Pan Masala.

The regulator has asked the three actors to explain their roles as brand endorsers and directed them to remove the promotional advertisements from their social media platforms within 15 days.

The FDA is examining the campaign under provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, particularly Section 24, which deals with misleading or deceptive food advertisements. According to the regulator, the presentation, dialogue, product name and wider market context of the Vimal Elaichi campaign could create an association with Vimal Pan Masala, a product category prohibited in Maharashtra when it contains tobacco or nicotine.

The notices also cite Section 53 of the Act, which provides for a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh for a person involved in publishing a misleading food advertisement.

The action follows an order issued by the Maharashtra Commissioner of Food Safety on 13 July 2026, prohibiting the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine in the state for one year.

The FDA’s scrutiny comes amid a broader enforcement drive against banned gutkha and pan masala products. Between 25 May and 31 July, officials raided 658 establishments, seized stock worth Rs 15.11 crore, registered 519 FIRs and arrested 701 people, according to the department.

Authorities also seized 78 vehicles allegedly being used to transport banned products, with the goods found in them valued at Rs 6.6 crore.

The crackdown has extended to possible organised networks. On 12 June, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe directed officials to coordinate with the police and examine whether the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 could be invoked in eligible cases involving networks dealing in gutkha, tobacco and nicotine-containing pan masala.

Vimal’s advertising strategy has faced regulatory questions before. In 2018, the Directorate General of Health Services issued show-cause notices to Vishnu Pouch Packaging Pvt Ltd, alleging that Vimal Elaichi advertising amounted to indirect promotion of tobacco products. The company disputed the allegations, stating that it did not manufacture tobacco products under the Vimal brand for the domestic market.

In January 2024, the Delhi High Court dismissed DGHS appeals against trial court orders that had stayed those notices. The court noted that the company could continue selling pan masala without tobacco, subject to applicable legal and constitutional requirements, while the question of whether the advertising amounted to surrogate promotion remained contested.

The latest Maharashtra FDA notices are being pursued under food-safety legislation and are separate from the earlier proceedings under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act.

For Devgn, Khan and Shroff, the immediate question is now less about the ad’s star power and more about whether the Vimal Elaichi campaign crossed the line into what the regulator considers surrogate promotion.