Karan Johar lands in fresh trouble, slapped with legal notice, may get 5 years jail

Bollywood film-maker Karan Johar has landed in trouble due to the showcasing of a tobacco product advertisement during his ongoing TV show India's Next Superstar. He has been slapped with a legal notice by the Delhi Health Department.

Bollywood film-maker Karan Johar has landed in a fresh trouble that might end up with him serving a five jail-term. Karan Johar who is seen as a judge in the ongoing popular TV realty show India’s Next Superstar, has been slapped with a legal notice by Delhi government. Karan’s production house ‘Dharma Productions’ is associated with the realty show – India’s Next Superstar, that premiers on Star Plus. During the show, the promotional advertisement of Kamala Pasand Pan Masala, a tobacco brand, has invited the ire of the health department of Delhi. According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, citing the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA)), the health department has issued a notice to Dharma Productions, Endemol Productions and Star TV owners.

Showcasing the advertisement of tobacco and cigarette brands in the show is a violation of the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products Act, and thereby, the Health Department took the matter seriously. Notably, the logo of Dharma Production also comes at the start of the show. This is the second such notice against Karan Johar, due to which, he is susceptible to a five-year imprisonment and Rs 2000 fine, as per the report. The Health Department has given a ten 10-day time to respond to the notice, failing which the body will file a legal case against all those mentioned in the notice.

Earlier, the Delhi Health Department had issued a strict compliance notice to Karan Johar, Shahrukh Khan, Gauri Khan and others for promoting smoking in promotional posters of their film ‘Ittefaq’. One of the posters of the film shows actor Akshaye Khanna lighting a cigarette. Additional Director (Health), Tobacco Control Department, S.K. Arora had then said, “The director, producer, actor, distributor and promoters of this film, along with the editors of various news agencies/other media, are liable to be prosecuted”.

It must be noted that the winner of India’s Next Superstar will get a chance to work in a Karan Johar movie. The show is co-hosted by film-maker Rohit shetty along with Karan Johar.