Mumbai, September 30, 2026: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is likely to take the matter forward after three Bollywood actors responded to notices issued over a Vimal Elaichi advertisement, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said on Tuesday.
The notices were issued to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff. Mundhe said responses had been received from all three, while two of them had sought personal hearings before the department. The hearings were completed on Monday, September 28. The commissioner, however, did not disclose which two actors appeared for the hearings.
“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,” Mundhe said.
FDA Seeks Details From Actors
The FDA had issued notices to the actors on August 11, seeking their responses over the advertisement, which the regulator had alleged amounted to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in Maharashtra.
The department had sought details about their role as brand endorsers, contracts, campaign briefs, remuneration and the due diligence undertaken before associating with the advertisement.
The actors were also asked to stop participating in the campaign and remove promotional material related to the advertisement from their official social media accounts, according to reports on the notices.
Delhi High Court Hears Challenge
The matter also reached the Delhi High Court after PB Agro LLP, the master licensee associated with Vimal Elaichi, challenged the FDA notices. The court dismissed the petition on September 14 on grounds of territorial jurisdiction, without examining the merits of the surrogate-advertising allegations.
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Mundhe had earlier said that celebrities endorsing products also have a responsibility to undertake due diligence regarding the products and advertisements they associate with.
With responses received from all three actors and hearings completed for two of them, the FDA will now decide its further course of action. No final decision or penalty against the actors has been announced so far.
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