On 9th October (Monday), Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar refuted media reports that he has returned as brand ambassador for the leading chewable tobacco (gutkha) brand, Vimal Pan masala. Responding to Bollywood Hungama’s report, he fact-checked the Entertainment news portal and lambasted it for carrying out the report which he dubbed as “fake news”.
He noted that the TV commercial advertisements for the gutkha brand Vimal, which have recently been broadcast, were actually recorded on October 13th, two years ago. He emphasized that he publicly disassociated himself from the brand at that time and has had no involvement with it since. However, he also mentioned that the company is legally allowed to continue running these ads until the end of next month.
Replying to Bollywood Hungama on X, Akshay wrote, “‘Returns’ as ambassador? Here’s some fact check for you Bollywood Hungama, if by chance you are interested in things other than fake news. These ads were shot on 13th October 2021. I have not had anything to do with the brand ever since I publicly announced the discontinuation of the endorsement. They can legally run the already-shot ads till the end of next month. Chill and do some real news.”
Notably, the latest advertisement for pan masala brand Vimal features Akshay Kumar alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn. This led to controversy as Akshay had stepped down as the brand ambassador of Vimal last year following criticism from his fans. Previously, he had signed up as a brand ambassador for the company’s Elaichi products. However, Vimal also makes tobacco products, and his endorsement of the brand was seen as an endorsement of those products.