Bollywood Celebrities Who Have Got Themselves Into Trouble For Their Endorsements

Many of our favorite stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh and Madhuri Dixit have got themselves into trouble for their endorsements. Today, here are some Bollywood celebrities who have faced backlash for endorsing a brand.

Madhu Sapre and Milind Soman

In 1995, Milind Sonam and his then-girlfriend and former Miss India winner, Madhu Sapre stirred up a nationwide controversy as the two posed nude for the footwear company Tuff Shoes, wore nothing but a python wrapped around their bodies and a pair of sneakers.

The ad was slammed by animal rights’ groups for illegally using a python in an advertisement and cruelty to animals. As a result, it was banned and the models were charged with indecent behavior in a court. The case was in dispute for 14 years, with the models finally finding themselves acquitted in 2009.

Ranveer Singh

Ranveer’s image was negatively affected after he starred in the Jack & Jones advertisement which showed him carrying a miniskirt-clad girl on his shoulders with the tagline,

The ad was called out by many people on social media, including Tamil superstar Siddharth for being offensive and sexist. With a strong wave of criticism, the brand had to take down 12 billboards all over the country and issued a public apology. Ranveer Singh too had apologized for the advertisement.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

12 years ago, Aishwarya featured in a jewelry commercial which shows her being waited upon by a dark-skinned native child slave. The ad commercial faced a lot of criticism from civil right activists who termed it “racist” and accused the actress of promoting child labor.

While her presentative explained that including the image of a child was just a "creative call" on the brand's part, the ad was later dropped out of the jewelry company’s campaign.

Shah Rukh Khan

Bollywood superstar got embroiled in a controversy as he endorsed a skin-whitening cream. An online petition named Dark is Beautiful to oppose the promotion of skin color discrimination collected 22000 signatures not only from across the country but also from the many parts of the world.

Bollywood celebs namely Aamir Khan, Anu Hasan, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Vishakha Singh among many others also supported the campaign. However, Shah Rukh Khan chose to remain silent about the controversy and still appears in the commercial.

Madhuri Dixit

The Dhak Dhak girl of Bollywood Madhuri Dixit ran into legal trouble for endorsing Maggi noodles. The Muzaffarpur court in Bihar had not only directed the police to file for an FIR against Madhuri, but she had also got a notice from the Haridwar Food and Drug Administration for her claims in the ad.

Amid the controversy, Madhuri issued a public statement in which she said that the Nestle team previously assured her that the products reached the quality and safety standard.

Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu

Bipasha Morea and his ex-girlfriend Dino Basu faced the heat as the couple did an advertisement for a foreign innerwear company where Dino can be seen tugging at Bipasha's underwear with his teeth.

It came with a tagline,

Many women’s rights organizations slammed the ad for its sensibilities and it had to be pulled down.

Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora

The coffee commercial, which came with a tagline “Real pleasure can't come in an instant”, apparently did not go down well with the conservative Indian public for its sexual overtones. As a result, it was immediately banned.