February 04, 2026 12:14 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Supreme Court raps Meta, WhatsApp: ‘Theft of private information, won’t allow its use’ | ‘Completely surrendered’: Congress slams Modi after Trump’s trade deal move | PM Modi thanks 'dear friend' Trump for tariff reduction, hails strong US–India partnership | Trump announces US–India trade deal, lowers reciprocal tariffs to 18% | After Budget mayhem, bulls return: Sensex, Nifty stage sharp recovery | Dalai Lama wins first Grammy at 90 | Firing outside Rohit Shetty’s Mumbai home: 4 arrested, Bishnoi Gang link emerges | Female suicide attackers emerge at centre of deadly BLA assaults that rocked Pakistan’s Balochistan | Delhi blast: Probe reveals doctors' module planned attacks on global coffee chain | Begging bowl: Pakistan PM says he feels “ashamed” seeking loans abroad
Amitabh Bachchan | Paan masala
Image credit: Amitabh Bachchan Instagram

Amitabh Bachchan terminates contract with paan masala brand, says 'wasn't aware it was surrogate ad'

| @indiablooms | Oct 12, 2021, at 03:59 am

New Delhi/IBNS: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, in a recent blog post, revealed that he has terminated contract with a paan masala brand as he was "unaware" of some of the details such as the fact that the product was a surrogate advertising.

Amitabh Bachchan, who is also a brand ambassador for the pulse polio campaign, was criticised for promoting the paan masala brand.

In a statement from his office, shared on his blog post, it read: "Kamala Pasand - a few days after the commercial was aired, Mr Bachchan contacted the brand and stepped out of it last week."

The statement added the 79-year-old star signed the contract with the brand without the knowledge that the product categorises as "surrogate advertising":

"Upon checking why this sudden move - it was revealed that when Mr Bachchan became associated with the brand, he wasn't aware that it falls under surrogate advertising," the blog post read.

"Mr Bachchan has terminated the contract with the Brand, has written to them his termination and has returned the money received for the promotion," it added.

Amitabh Bachchan's statement came following a massive flak the actor received for endorsing the brand.

Last month, the National Organization for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), an NGO, had reached out to Bachchan, appealing him to not endorse commercials that promote paan masala brands.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.