Superstar Akshay Kumar recently joined Ajay Devgan and Shahrukh Khan for the promotion of pan masala brand by featuring in a TV commercial with them. Due to this move, Akshay recieved a lot of flak from fans and netizens who pointed out his hypocrisy as he also features in an anti smoking ad.

Former CBFC Chief Pahlaj Nihlani has also expressed his displeasure regarding this issue and slammed actors for promoting such products. According to a recent report in Firstpost, Nihlani stated, "I strongly believe that ad where Akshay schools a common man on how to spend money on sanitary pads should be removed henceforth from films. The Government should seriously think about it. On one hand, a known saleable actor is telling the public not to spend on cigarettes. On the other hand, the same actor is recommending paan masala. Very confusing for the impressionable public."

Nihlani then went on to compare Bollywood stars with their southern counterparts. He stated, "There are temples built for stars like Rajinikanth, Vijay and Khushboo in the South. And when Yash’s KGF 2 was released in Mumbai his fans poured milk on his cardboard cutout. Have you ever heard of any Bollywood actor being thus honoured?”