Bollywood superstars Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan, and Akshay Kumar have received backlash for endorsing Vimal Pan masala, which is known to manufacture tobacco products.
Khiladi Kumar recently apologised to his fans on social media and resigned from his contract after receiving widespread criticism from netizens. Even now, netizens are unearthing old commercials of the superstar and trolling him.
Almost every celebrity has endorsed alcohol brands at some point in their careers.
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, on the other hand, has stayed away from it.
In the midst of the social media shaming, a 2010 report reveals Sachin Tendulkar was offered Rs 20 crore from UB Group to promote their product, but he refused. The Maharashtra government even praised the legendary cricketer at the time for setting a good example. It’s not the first time he’s reduced a commercial like this.
Tendulkar even refused to participate in the ‘Oo La La La Le O’ commercial – which had a plethora of cricketers across states and countries and clubs. The reason was quite simple. The company that was running the advertisement also produced alcohol.
Back in 2020, Sachin Tendulkar also revealed why he stayed away from any association of brands that produce either tobacco or alcohol.
At ‘2020 Salaam Cricket’, the Masterblaster said, “This was a promise I made to my father. He told me I am a role model and a lot of people will follow what you do.”
The legendary skipper understood the impact he had on people as a leading sportsperson who was playing for Team India.
Even during the 90s era when most of his colleagues were promoting brands of tobacco or alcohol, Sachin Tendulkar stayed away from it. He even refused to put a single sticker of any such brands on his bat. “In the 1990s my bat didn’t have a sticker on it, I didn’t have a contract. But everybody else in the team was endorsing 2 brands in particular … ” he said.
“I have stayed away from these two things and have never broken the promise to my father,” the former Team India cricketer said