End of an Era as Nandu’s Anti Smoking ad discontinued after 6 years.

Akshay Kumar’s iconic anti-smoking Nandu is being discontinued by the CBFC after 6 years. The ad will be replaced with a new one that talks about the positive impact of quitting tobacco within 20 minutes.

Back in 2012, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, along with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, made it mandatory for all films depicting smoking scenes to have an anti-smoking ad at the start of the film and between the intermission. Throughout the years, many ads went up and were pulled down until in 2018, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Singh Pal came together to make an ad. 

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As part of the early promotion of Akshay Kumar’s Padman, it showed Akshay Kumar telling a man named Nandu to stop smoking and use the money saved to buy a sanitary pad for his wife. This ad was made mandatory for only Hindi films by CBFC.

While talking in an interview, Ajay Singh Pal said, “Out of 100, 20-25 people on average realize that I am Nandu. Most people, however, feel that Nandu must be a big star staying in Mumbai and can’t be seen in Bhopal! A few remarks: I look like that guy from the anti-smoking ad! Haan, bacche bade sharp hote hai; bacche pehchaan lete hai mujhe!”

The message it gave was very positive without any gorely visuals which the audience seemed to like and will miss dearly. Accoeding to an official at a Multiplex, movie-goers would recite the lines from the ad, word by word because they have been watching that ad for 6 years. The old ad was not displayed in the recently released films like Jigra and Vicky Vidya Ki Woh Wali Story, which has smoking scenes. The release of the new ad is yet to be annouched by the CBFC.