Kartik Aaryan turns down pan-masala ad worth Rs 9 crore

Celebrity endorsement for pan-masala brands has amassed significant traction over the years. Prominent Bollywood stars have also drawn massive flak on social media for promoting harmful substances such as tobacco.

While these endorsements bring lots of money to the celebrities, there have been instances where the actor had to turn down offers as good as nine crores and Bollywood star, Kartik Aaryan is the latest entrant into the conscious list.

Citing responses from an industry ad-guru, several news reports stated that Aaryan’s move to reject the nine-crore pan-masala endorsement stemmed from his conscious responsibilities towards the public as a youth icon.

The Bollywood actor has since been receiving lots of support and praise for his move on social media. Furthermore, he is being hailed as a man of principles by his fan pages on social media.

Earlier, Allu Arjun, a South Indian star had also turned down an endorsement for pan-masala.

According to COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act), tobacco advertising is not allowed and the guidelines by ASCI (Advertising Standards Council India) also state that celebrities must not endorse products that require health warnings on the packaging.

Despite all these rules and guidelines in place, celebrities like Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh, Manoj Vajpayee and Saif Ali Khan have been the faces of these brands for several years.

In fact, Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar, who is known for his healthy lifestyle and fitness regime, had also fallen prey to receiving face flak on social media because of his decision to join Vimal Elaichi’s endorsement club alongside Shahrukh Khan and Ajay Devgn.

Moreover, Bollywood star, Amitabh Bachchan had also announced his withdrawal from Kamla Pasand’s campaign in October last year, as he was not aware of pan-masala endorsements falling under surrogate advertising.

“It was revealed that when Mr Bachchan became associated with the brand, he wasn’t aware that it falls under surrogate advertising. Mr Bachchan has terminated the contract with the brand, has written to them about his termination and has returned the money received for the promotion,” the actor’s blog post stated.

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