The Vimal Elaichi row refers to the Food and Drug Administration’s notices to Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff over endorsing the Vimal Elaichi brand, which critics say rides on the branding of a related tobacco product. The FDA commissioner has now confirmed all three actors have formally responded, and two hearings in the matter have already taken place.
Key Takeaways
- FDA has sent legal notices to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff for endorsing Vimal Elaichi.
- All three celebrities have submitted their replies to the notices, the FDA commissioner confirmed.
- Two hearings in the Vimal Elaichi row have been held so far, with the matter still open.
- The core allegation is surrogate advertising — using a mouth-freshener brand to indirectly push an associated pan masala or tobacco product.
What Exactly Is the Vimal Elaichi Row?
Vimal Elaichi is sold as a plain cardamom and mouth-freshener product. The trouble is the name and the packaging style sit very close to Vimal Pan Masala, a product line that shares branding lineage with tobacco-linked items from the same business family. Anti-tobacco activists have long argued that ads for the “clean” elaichi version quietly keep the Vimal name in front of millions of viewers, which in turn benefits the tobacco-associated product too.
That is the textbook definition of surrogate advertising, something Indian law is specifically designed to stop. When a big-name actor fronts the campaign, the reach multiplies instantly, which is exactly why this complaint escalated into a formal FDA probe rather than staying a social-media grumble.
Why Did the FDA Step In?
India regulates tobacco advertising tightly under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, commonly called COTPA. The law doesn’t just ban direct tobacco ads — it also prohibits using a brand name associated with tobacco products to sell an unrelated item, precisely to close the loophole companies once used to keep their logos on television and billboards.
Once consumer groups and health activists flagged the Vimal Elaichi campaigns featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff, the FDA’s legal cell examined whether these endorsements amounted to surrogate promotion. You can read the specifics of what the law bans on the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) page, which lays out why brand-sharing between a tobacco product and a “clean” sibling product draws regulatory attention so fast in India.
Notices were issued to the three actors asking them to explain their association with the brand and clarify whether they had verified, before signing on, that the product being advertised had no tobacco linkage.
Who Has Responded, and What Did They Say?
According to the FDA commissioner, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff have all filed their responses to the notices. The exact content of each reply hasn’t been made public in full, but the broader defence being floated by celebrity endorsers in such cases typically rests on three points: that the contract was for the elaichi product alone, that disclaimers were run during the ads, and that liability for any brand confusion should sit with the manufacturer, not the face of the campaign.
Here’s a quick snapshot of where things stand with each name involved in the Vimal Elaichi row:
| Celebrity | Product Endorsed | Status |
| Shah Rukh Khan | Vimal Elaichi | Response filed with FDA |
| Ajay Devgn | Vimal Elaichi | Response filed with FDA |
| Tiger Shroff | Vimal Elaichi | Response filed with FDA |
None of the three have issued a detailed public statement outside the regulatory process itself, which is fairly standard practice while a matter is still being heard.
How Many Hearings Have Happened So Far?
Two hearings have taken place in the Vimal Elaichi row, per the FDA commissioner’s update. Hearings of this kind usually involve the department reviewing submitted documents, questioning the brand’s advertising agency about creative briefs, and giving each named respondent a chance to present their side before any penalty or clean-chit decision is reached. A third hearing, or a final order, has not been announced yet.
Is This the First Time Celebrities Have Faced This Kind of Notice?
No, and that’s really the bigger story here. Indian film and cricket stars have been pulled up for tobacco-adjacent surrogate ads for more than a decade — pan masala brands in particular have a history of signing A-listers for “elaichi,” “supari,” or “mouth freshener” lines that sit one shelf away from their gutkha counterparts in the same shop. Courts and the Advertising Standards Council of India have flagged this pattern repeatedly, and celebrities have occasionally apologised or exited contracts once the surrogate link became public knowledge.
What makes the current Vimal Elaichi row notable is the scale of names involved together — Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff span three different generations of Bollywood stardom, which has pushed the story well beyond the usual trade-press coverage into mainstream entertainment news.
What Happens Next in the Vimal Elaichi Row?
If the FDA concludes the ads violated COTPA’s surrogate advertising provisions, the brand itself faces the bigger exposure — fines, a ban on the specific campaign, or a direction to pull existing ads from television and digital platforms. For the actors, the realistic outcomes range from a clean exit with no penalty (if their contracts and disclosures check out) to a formal warning about due diligence before signing future endorsement deals.
Celebrity endorsement contracts in India rarely survive this kind of scrutiny without some change in a brand’s advertising conduct, even if the individual star faces no direct fine. Expect any resolution to come with fresh disclaimers, clearer brand separation, or in some cases a public clarification from the companies involved rather than from the actors themselves.
FAQ
What is Vimal Elaichi?
Vimal Elaichi is marketed as a cardamom-based mouth freshener, sold under a brand name that activists say is closely linked to a tobacco-associated pan masala line from the same business group.
Why are Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff involved?
All three have appeared in advertising campaigns for Vimal Elaichi, which is why the FDA issued them notices asking about their role in what is alleged to be surrogate advertising.
What law applies to the Vimal Elaichi row?
The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) is the central law being examined, since it bans using a tobacco-linked brand name to indirectly advertise another product.
Has any celebrity been fined yet?
No penalty has been announced as of now. Two hearings have been completed, and the FDA has only confirmed that all three stars submitted their responses.
Could this affect other celebrity endorsements?
Possibly. Past surrogate-advertising cases in India have led brands and talent managers to tighten due-diligence checks before signing new mouth-freshener or “elaichi” category deals.
The Vimal Elaichi row is far from closed — two hearings in, with Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff’s replies now on record, the next move rests with the FDA. Until a final order comes through, this stays a cautionary tale about how closely Indian celebrities now need to vet the brands they front.