Amitabh Bachchan is celebrating his 79th birthday today. One of the busiest and popular stars of all time, Mr Bachchan is juggling between multiple projects and brand endorsements. Recently, an advertisement featuring the megastar garnered criticism. Fans of Mr Bachchan were disappointed with the fact that the legendary actor promoted pan masala that has adverse impacts on the health of citizens. Today, on his birthday, Mr Bachchan gave his fans a gift by terminating his contract with the pan masala brand.

A statement was released. It read, "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 wasn’t 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."

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Earlier, a letter was sent to Mr Bachchan and Shekhar Salkar, President National Organization For Tobacco Eradication stating that consumption of pan masala is harmful to the health of consumers. The sender requested the megastar to not promote the product. "As an oncologist and member of an NGO working in the field of tobacco cessation, I am aggrieved and provoked to wage war against the dubious measures, such embellishment done by various influential and famous Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh and Hrithik Roshan, leading to increased tobacco use among students," the letter read.

Indeed, this is a special birthday gift to fans of Mr Bachchan. 

(Source: Indian Express)