Veteran actor Govind Namdev, who has appeared in several noteworthy roles, recently opened up on how actors should be responsible towards their fans. He said that actors like Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, have a huge fan following and should stay away from doing ads of pan masala and gambling apps. Govind, in an interview with Bollywood Bubble, said that he was a big fan of actor Hrithik Roshan but when he saw the actor endorsing a pan masala brand, he was quite shocked. “It is the actors’ responsibility that they show the right direction to the new generation. An actor should not do anything that shows people the wrong way. I used to really like Hrithik Roshan, I should say it, why shouldn’t I? But he is also doing gutka ad and also an ad to lure people into gambling, why? I used to like him a lot but when I saw him do all this, I was like, ‘kar kya rahe hai yeh (what is he doing)? You are teaching newcomers and youngsters to gamble. When an actor does an ad, they are praising it, isn’t it? It inspires people, ‘you do it!’ You are teaching them to gamble? You are teaching them to consume tobacco? Shouldn’t an actor be responsible, that they don’t misdirect the people?”
The latest actor to join the pan masala wagon is #HrithikRoshan for DL’s Signature Brand. Why are actors endorsing these products? Especially a-listers. pic.twitter.com/felvBWYdWM — Geetika Rustagi (@geetiga) September 29, 2021 Dilbagh’s ad for Signature Elaichi features Hrithik Roshan. “Actors should not do such ads because people look up to them, mimic them, idolise them. They doing it in your style. Why show them the wrong direction? They have made you,” he added.
When asked if he was every offered to endorse such a product, Govind said, “Yes, I was offered, and till date I regret doing that one bad deed. I had done an ad for Goa Pan Masala, almost 20 years ago. It was new back then, it had just started. One of my characters had become very famous, from Rajkumar Santoshi’s Lajja, my dialogue had also become famous, ‘Uth Jaayenge’. Goa Pan Masala made an ad with that, same character, same look and dialogue. When I got that offer back then, I did not have that much awareness on what are the actors’ responsibilities. I was new and I did it. After doing it, I realised that if there was something I would call the worst thing of my career, it would be that ad. I still regret it but now there is now way to redeem myself.”
Actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff among many others participate in surrogate advertising where they promote brands which are also manufacturers of pan masala products.
