After being criticized for endorsing a paan-masala brand, Bollywood megastar, Amitabh Bachchan announced that he will no longer be part of the promotions for the brand.
A blog post, addressed by “the office of Mr Amitabh Bachchan” on Sunday night informed that he will no longer endorse the product.
“A few days after the commercial was aired, Mr Bachchan contacted the brand and stepped out of it last week.” Upon checking why this sudden move – it was revealed that when 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 and has returned the money received for the promotion,” the post read.
The 79-year-old actor had faced backlash for featuring in an advertisement of Kamala Pasand paan masala brand. Several fans of the screen icon had expressed their displeasure over the actor’s decision.
Last month, the National Organization for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), an NGO, had also appealed to Bachchan to not be part of advertisements that promote paan masala brands.
In an open letter, NOTE president Dr Shekhar Salkar had said that the actor should withdraw from “surrogate” paan masala advertisements and support the cause of the anti-tobacco movement.
Earlier in September, after a fan had asked Big B, the reasons behind endorsing paan masala, Big B had replied, “I get paid to do it.”
