Film Stars earn big bucks through brand endorsements. It’s an additional source of income to their already inflated pay packets they earn through the films they do. It’s an ad on perk of being a Film Star. Barring a few, almost all the big names of the film industry endorse products like pan masala and alcohol through surrogate advertising.
So the question we are asking is, should film stars keep their conscience to one side and endorse brands that are harmful for the public just because they pay big bucks? Don’t they have any social responsibility? Shouldn’t they be more conscious and use discretion before they decide to back a brand? These film stars have huge fan followings and anything they say or do have a far reaching impact on people’s lives. Little children are especially most vulnerable to these suggestions and can easily become victims of these endorsements.
There’s rising awareness amongst the public about this subject and film stars often get trolled for these endorsements. The public does not take this for granted and often calls them out for this irresponsible behavior. A case in point is the recent endorsement of a pan masala brand by Amitabh Bachchan. He was heavily trolled for that and had to disassociate himself from the brand after severe backlash from the public.
But making rules and laying down laws that prevent these film stars from backing brands is not the answer. Enforcing social conduct is not a viable solution and we have to look for other ways to deter these stars from endorsing harmful products. As long as these brands pay enormous sums for endorsements, someone or the other will be lured into endorsing their products for money’s sake.
The other way could be to ban surrogate advertising completely. That way, no film stars could endorse a harmful product even if they wanted to. We’ll all agree that the era of censorship has long gone but our collective social responsibility, especially towards the vulnerable, does prod us to lay down some rules to prevent propagation of these kinds of products. After all, it’s the responsibility of the adults to protect the younger generation from any influences that may leave a dent on their innocent and impressionable minds.