A shocking turn of events occurred today, on the occasion of his 79th birthday. Amitabh Bachchan has refused to endorse a pan masala brand and has canceled the contract. He has also returned the fee he was paid for the promotion.

The official statement from the “the office of Mr Amitabh Bachchan” reads, “Kamala Pasand  a few days after the commercial was aired, Mr Bachchan contacted the brand and stepped out of it last week. Upon checking why this sudden move  it was revealed that when Mr Bachchan became associated with the brand, he wasnÂt aware that it falls under surrogate advertising. Mr Bachchan has terminated the contract with the Brand, has written to them his termination and has returned the money received for the promotion.”

This comes after a national anti-tobacco organization asked Amitabh Bachchan to withdraw from the campaign, claiming that it would encourage young people to become addicted to tobacco.

A fan had also written to him on Facebook, “Hello sir, I have just one question for you. What is the need for you to advertise a paan masala brand? Then what is the difference between you and these petty artists?”

Responding to him, Amitabh Bachchan wrote, “I ask for your forgiveness. If someone is doing well in their industry, then one should not wonder ‘why am I associated with it?’ If that is a business, then we should think about our business too. Now, you feel that I should not have done this, but by doing this, I get paid and there are many people working in our profession, who are workers, and in a way they too get work and money. Besides, gentleman, please don’t use the word ‘tatpunjiya’. It doesn’t look good coming from you and it does not suit all the artists who belong to our industry.”

Surrogate advertising, for the uninitiated, is a type of advertising that promotes prohibited products in the guise of another product.

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