Pan masala ad row: Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff face FDA notices

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued notices to Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff over their appearance in an advertisement for Vimal Elaichi, saying the campaign may breach food safety regulations.

The notices were issued on Friday, asking the actors to explain their involvement in the advertisement and their association with the brand.

The regulator has alleged that the campaign amounts to surrogate advertising for Vimal Pan Masala, a product banned in Maharashtra. The action comes as the state FDA intensifies its crackdown on gutka and pan masala products containing tobacco or nicotine.

The notices were sent to Devgn at his residence in Juhu and Khan at Mannat in Bandra. Shroff was served through his production company, Tiger Shroff Productions LLP.

According to the FDA, the advertisement creates a strong association with a brand that is primarily identified with pan masala. The regulator has also cited a Maharashtra government order dated July 13, 2026, which prohibits the manufacture, storage, transport, distribution and sale of the product in the state for one year from the date specified in the order.

The notices do not amount to a finding of wrongdoing. The actors have been asked to provide their explanations to the regulator.

The action is part of a wider enforcement campaign by the Maharashtra FDA. Officials have been conducting inspections and seizures involving several food safety concerns, including adulterated milk, food sold by restaurants, unhealthy products around schools and the manufacture and sale of banned gutka and tobacco-containing pan masala.