Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar, who was recently seen in an advertisement for a tobacco brand along with Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan, issued an apology for featuring in the commercial after it received flak from the netizens. The actor took to his social media to tender an apology through a long note. He wrote, "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."

Although the advertisement was for an 'elaichi' (cardamom) product, given the laws surrounding surrogacy marketing in India, it triggered a slew of reactions on the internet. Reacting to the controversy, Ajay, who is currently promoting his upcoming film Runway 34, recently said, "It is a personal choice. When you do something, you also see how harmful it would be. Somethings are harmful, some are not."

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Ajay added, "I would say it without naming it because I don’t want to promote it; I was doing elaichi. What I feel is more than advertisements, if certain things are so wrong, then they should not be sold."

Goa BJP's medical cell convenor Shekhar Salkar also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strip Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan of their Padma Awards for featuring in such ads. However, it is to be noted that the Government of India earned Rs 4,962 crore in taxes for the financial year 2020-2021 from tobacco companies.

(Source: Hindustan Times)