Subhash K Jha delved into the Paan Masala Ad problem and what is happening.
A recent self-glorification campaign has a veteran actor’s publicity machinery going overboard with reports that he turned down a paan masala ad, although they offered him Rs 10 crores.
However, a prominent ad filmmaker who is in the know about star endorsements calls the actor’s bluff. “It is very, very unlikely that he was offered any paan masala endorsement, let alone 10 crores. Law forbids the CBFC from granting certification to paan masala and alcohol ads. Therefore the ads for these products being broadcast are illegal. Actors who are part of such ads should know they’re participating in an illegal activity. I think the last major star to be actually offered a gutka-paan masala ad was Kartik Aaryan and he said a firm no.”
Pierce Broson claims he had no idea about the deleterious side effects of gutka and paan masala when he endorsed one of those products. Bollywood actors like Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Manoj Bajpai and Rajneesh Duggal are seen endorsing pan masala and gutka in ads screened on various digital and non-digital outlets.
However, these ads were shot prior to the current laws about endorsing health-hazardous products.
Pahlaj Nihalani, who served as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, spoke on the paan masala issue during his tenure.
He told this writer, “The Censor Board Of Film Certification(CBFC) has placed a complete ban on gutka ads. We do not even consider paan masala and any tobacco-related advertisement for censor certification. In other words, no ads related to tobacco products can be submitted to the censor board.”
So how did they end up being shown on various home viewing media, including many mainstream TV channels? Wherever they are shown, they are done without censor certification. You will have to ask the Information and Broadcasting ministry. Why are ads for tobacco-related products featuring actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Manoj Bajpai, Ajay Devgn, and Govinda being shown on the home viewing and other visual outlets when they are not even eligible for censorship certification?
In fact, Nihalani has a larger question to ask, “At a time when the government is coming down heavily on all potentially harmful products , why are no eyebrows raised when paan masala , cigarette, and alcohol ads are not only endorsed by top stars but also screened through cable networks and even on television in cleverly veiled language that pretends to be selling soda instead of whiskey?”
