After the debacle of Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff's Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Tiger who adores Akshay Kumar has decided to follow in the footsteps of his role model Akshay Kumar.
Khiladi Kumar who has time and again said that he won't endorse any pan masala brand owing to health hazards, faced massive backlash in the year 2022 when Akshay Kumar joined Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn in the new Vimal ad.
Akshay Kumar back out of Vimal ad
Akshay has to face the wrath of the fans as he endorsed the pan-masala, despite saying that he had discontinued his association with the brand.
Akshay shared an apology letter on social media and stated that he wouldn't continue endorsing the brand the ad that was released was shot beforehand and he had no idea that the ad would be released.
Akashy renders apology
His apology letter read: "I am sorry. I would like to apologise to you, all my fans and well-wishers. Your reaction over the past few days has deeply affected me. While I have not and will not endorse tobacco, I respect the outpouring of your feelings in light of my association with Vimal Elaichi. With all humility, I step back. I have decided to contribute the entire endorsement fee towards a worthy cause. The brand might continue airing the ads till the legal duration of the contract that is binding upon me, but I promise to be extremely mindful in making my future choices. In return, I shall forever continue to ask for your love and wishes."
Much after hue and cry, and several edits, Tiger Shroff has replaced Akshay Kumar in the new ad of Vimal Elaichi.
Tiger Shroff replaces Akshay Kumar; and joins Ajay Devgn and SRK in the new Vimal ad
The new ad was dropped online which shows, Shah Rukh Khan, OG brand ambassador Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff.
Superb new Work with King Khan, Mass Maharaja and Young Action Hero together in generation and also @AmyraDastur93 ofcourse her dream come true with SRK-Ajay-tiger together. #vimalelaichi @iamsrk ? @ajaydevgn @iTIGERSHROFF https://t.co/X4aytupAz6
— Charmi Sangoi (@CharmiSan24) April 25, 2024
The new ad also features actress Amyra Dastur joining the trio of Ajay, SRK and Tiger.
About the ad
The ad starts with Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh being stuck in traffic, seated in a vintage as the lanes are narrow it's tough for the car to pass by and pedestrians are freely walking on the road.
Shah Rukh then tells Ajay, "Chal ho jaa shuru" cut-to Ajay opens a pack of the brand. Soon Tiger appears out of nowhere and throws flowers which is the product. SRK joins the fight and ends up hitting Amyra Dastur with even more flowers. The ad ends with Ajay calling Tiger over as he joins them in their car.
Fans called it the 'Vimal Cinematic Universe' and said that Tiger should have learned from Akshay.
Netizens heaped praise on Akshay for backing out from the brand. They even schooled SRK to do the same.
A user mentioned, "Bade Miyan left vimalverse and Chote Miyan joined."
Another wrote, "I just can't believe he's going out on interviews and preached about 'health' and 'fitness' and then he decided to endorse this brand."
The third one said, "He is the worst of celebs. At least Akshay took a backseat from doing this pan masala ad, but he continued.."
Tiger was previously a brand ambassador for Pan Bahar with Mahesh Babu.
In 2023, when Akshay appeared in another ad for the brand, netizens were of the view that he was back with them. However, the actor said that the ad was shot back in 2021 when he was still in contract with them. "These ads were shot on 13th October, 2021. I have not had anything to do with the brand ever since I publicly announced the discontinuation of the endorsement. They can legally run the already shot ads till the end of next month," he shared on X.
Ajay has also faced criticism for associating with the brand but has continued to endorse it. Apart from Akshay, Amitabh Bachchan had also bowed out of the contract for endorsing a pan masala brand after massive public outrage.
