On Friday, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Jaipur-II, has issued notices to actors Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, and Tiger Shroff, along with the chairman of JB Industries, the manufacturer of Vimal Gutkha. They have been asked to appear on March 19 regarding an alleged misleading advertisement for Vimal Pan Masala.
The advertisement claims that every grain of Vimal Pan Masala contains saffron, with the tagline: “Dane dane mein hai kesar ka dum” (Each grain has the strength of saffron). The forum’s chairman, Gyarsilal Meena, and member Hemlata Agarwal passed this order while hearing a complaint filed by Jaipur resident Yogendra Singh Badiyal.
The complainant stated that JB Industries produces and sells Vimal Pan Masala across the country. He accused the three actors of promoting the product to boost its sales. He argued that the claim of saffron in the product is false since saffron costs around ₹4 lakh per kg, while a Pan Masala and Tobacco pouch costs only ₹5. He further stated that at such a low price, not even the fragrance of saffron could be added, let alone real saffron.
According to the complaint, the misleading advertisement influences more people to buy this harmful combination of Vimal Pan Masala and Tobacco, increasing the company’s profits. The petitioner also alleged that the actors are spreading false claims about the presence of saffron.
The complaint highlighted that while JB Industries earns crores in profit, consumers risk serious diseases like cancer by using the product. The petitioner claimed that the company knows the health risks but deliberately misleads the public by claiming it contains saffron. He demanded a ban on such advertisements.
“The Vimal manufacturing company is doing business worth crores of rupees and, on the other hand, the common people are inviting diseases like cancer by consuming the harmful and fatal combo of Pan Masala with tobacco known as gutkha. This mix, known as gutkha, is harmful to health, and the manufacturing company is also aware of this. In such a situation, it is deliberately advertising it by claiming that it contains saffron to mislead the common people. In such a situation, its advertisement should be banned,” the petitioner said.
This is not the first time that the complaint has been registered on Vimal Pan Masala ad. Previously, in the month of February 2025, a social worker from Kota, Indra Mohan Singh Hani, filed a complaint with the Kota Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan and Tiger Shroff. The complaint states that the actors are cheating the youth by advertising paan masala containing saffron. The commission has filed a case against three Bollywood celebrities and the company manufacturing the product and has sought a reply by April 21.
Social activist Inder Mohan Singh Hani had filed a complaint in which it was said that the youth consider Bollywood stars as their role model. The complainant said that these actors are cheating the youth by promoting a product which claims to contain saffron on its label but, in reality, does not contain saffron and is sold at the rate of around Rs 4 lakh per kilogram.
