NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar recently received wrath of his fans for featuring in an advertising campaign of a paan masala brand and said he was withdrawing his association. Akshay shared the frame with Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan in this advertisement. After he received flak from his fans and well-wishers, the actor issued an apology and announced that he is ending his association with the tobacco brand.
Meanwhile, Ajay Devgn has been associated with the tobacco brand for several years. During recent promotions for his upcoming film ‘Runway 34’, Ajay was asked about the brand endorsement. As per an IndianExpress.com report, Ajay said, “It is a personal choice. When you do something, you also see how harmful it would be. Somethings are harmful, some are not.”
Ajay added, “I would say it without naming it because I don’t want to promote it; I was doing elaichi. What I feel is more than advertisements, if certain things are so wrong, then they should not be sold.
On Wednesday, Akshay took to social media and issued an apology for featuring in the commercial after it received flak from the netizens. The actor tendered an apology through a long note. He wrote, “I am sorry. I would like to apologise to you, all my fans and well-wishers. Your reaction over the past few days has deeply affected me.”
Continuing his note further, Akshay wrote that he still stands by what he said in that particular video that surfaced on the Internet, “While I have not and will not endorse tobacco, I respect the outpouring of your feelings in light of my association with Vimal Elaichi. With all humility, I step back. I have decided to contribute the entire endorsement fee towards a worthy cause.”
“The brand might continue airing the ads till the legal duration of the contract that is binding upon me, but I promise to be extremely mindful in making my future choices. In return I shall forever continue to ask for your love and wishes(sic) “, he concluded.
Although the advertisement was for an ‘elaichi’ (cardamom) product, given the laws surrounding surrogacy marketing in India, it triggered a slew of memes and reels as people on the Internet dug up an old video of the ‘Bachchhan Paandey’ star where he can be seen promising that he would never work in a tobacco product advertisement.
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