After Sunny Deol says he’d 'never do pan masala ads’, his old ad resurfaces amid FDA notices to SRK, Ajay Devgn

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol recently said that he has never done pan masala advertisements and would never do one because it goes against his conscience. Sunny's statement came at a time when the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) issued show-cause notices to Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger Shroff for featuring in Vimal Elaichi advertisements.

However, the internet has now dug up an old advertisement featuring Sunny Deol in what appears to be a pan masala commercial, and the video has since been doing the rounds on social media. Along with Sunny Deol, the commercial also features actors Ravi Kishan and Vijay Raaz.

The video shows Sunny arriving at a paan shop with two women, who ask for meetha paan. The commercial then goes on to show Sunny consuming the meetha paan, with his photograph also displayed on the packaging of the pan masala. However, the packaging prominently carries the claims “No tobacco” and “No nicotine”. The resurfaced advertisement has now caught the attention of social media users, particularly in light of Sunny's recent comments about not endorsing pan masala. Take a look:

In a recent conversation with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, Sunny shared that he had turned down offers to promote products he does not believe in, including pan masala ads. He said, “I don’t do pan masala ads and kabhi karunga bhi nahi (I will never do pan masala ads). I wouldn’t do any of those things. Aatey hai but nahi karunga (I get offers but I won't do it). I don’t want to do something which I don’t believe in. Main inn sab cheezon ko manta nahi hoon (I don't agree with these things). I don’t think this is a good thing to promote."

“Kitni cheezein nahi karta because mera zameer nahi manta isliye aur joh karni hoti hai woh kar leta hoon (There are so many things I don't do because my conscience doesn't allow it, and the ones that need to be done, I simply do)," he said.

Recently, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff were issued notices by the FDA over their alleged indirect promotion of pan masala, a prohibited product in Maharashtra. The three actors had featured in an advertisement promoting Vimal's elaichi (cardamom) in 2024. Vimal is a brand associated with pan masala products. The FDA has said that the campaign could amount to surrogate or indirect promotion of prohibited pan masala or tobacco-related products.

The show-cause notice gives the actors 15 days from the date of receipt to submit a written explanation. The FDA warned that if no explanation is received, or if the explanation is found to be unsatisfactory, further action may be initiated under applicable law.

Vibha Maru is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Entertainment, based in Delhi. With a decade of experience across digital and print media, she covers Bollywood, Hollywood and web shows. A self-confessed cinephile who breathes Hindi cinema, Vibha can often be found sacrificing sleep after binge-watching films and web series. Though she holds a Commerce degree, she discovered her true calling in journalism after enrolling at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).