New Delhi: For years, “Bolo Zubaan Kesari” has been one of Bollywood advertising’s most recognisable lines, backed by some of its biggest stars. Now, the tagline has acquired an unexpected second act: a regulatory one. Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration has issued show-cause notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan and Tiger Shroff over their Vimal Elaichi advertisements, alleging that the campaign could amount to surrogate promotion of Vimal Pan Masala, a product prohibited in the state.

The notice puts the spotlight on a familiar advertising strategy, promote an ostensibly permissible product while retaining the name, visual identity and celebrity association of a brand better known for a restricted product.

And the FDA is not merely asking the actors why they appeared in the advertisement. It has sought their endorsement agreements, campaign briefs, payment details, advertising-agency information and product documents. The actors have also been asked to stop promoting the campaign and remove related promotional material from social media.

The ‘elaichi’ question

Vimal markets Elaichi as a mouth freshener, describing it as a blend of elaichi and kesar. Its own website prominently features Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff as brand ambassadors.

That is where the regulatory question gets interesting.

The issue before the FDA is not simply whether the pouch contains tobacco. It is whether the advertisement, taken as a whole, promotes the wider Vimal brand in a manner that indirectly keeps a prohibited pan masala product in consumers’ minds.

In other words, can an advertisement be legally about elaichi while commercially doing something more?

From celebrity endorsement to consumer responsibility

The case also brings celebrity endorsements under renewed scrutiny.

India’s consumer-protection framework allows action against misleading advertisements and places a due-diligence responsibility on endorsers. The 2022 guidelines issued under the Consumer Protection Act specifically require endorsers to have adequate information and exercise due diligence before making endorsements.

This is not the first time the Vimal campaign has attracted consumer-law scrutiny. In 2025, a Jaipur consumer forum issued notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over an allegedly misleading Vimal Pan Masala advertisement. 

The current Maharashtra proceedings, however, remain at the show-cause stage, with no finding of liability against the actors.

The case nevertheless highlights a growing consumer-protection concern: when a brand’s identity is strongly associated with a restricted product, can promoting another product under the same brand still be considered a standalone advertisement?

The FDA’s proceedings will now examine that distinction, along with the role and due diligence of the celebrity endorsers.

BI Bureau