Jaipur: In the eyes of Bollywood fans, their role model can do no wrong. However, a cancer-stricken fan of actor Ajay Devgn has pointedly objected to the latter starring in ads that promote tobacco products. Nanakram Meena, 40, resides in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Having seen his favourite star endorse gutkha on television, Meena began to use the product and is now paying the price — he is afflicted with cancer. This is the reason, Meena feels, Devgn should not star in advertisements promoting tobacco and related products.
Meena is not the only Devgn fan to do so, nor is he the only one to become a user of tobacco products; there are several others who were similarly influenced. To create public awareness and prevent others from falling prey to cancer, as he did, Meena has appealed to his idol to give up endorsing such products. A determined Meena has distributed 1,000 pamphlets and put up posters on walls which detail the pitfalls of the consumption of tobacco and related products and the impact on the users’ families as a result of this habit. Further, in the pamphlet, Nanakram asks Ajay how much tobacco is chewed by him or his family, adding that alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco are injurious to health and that Bollywood stars should not associate themselves with such products.
The posters and pamphlets also carry an exhortation to Devgn to refrain from pitching these products. Around 1000 pamphlets have been circulated and plastered on the walls in parts of Jaipur, including Sanganer, Jagatpura and nearby areas. According to Nanakram’s son, Dinesh, “My father is a big fan of Ajay Devgn. He would make it a point to buy only those products that his favourite star advertised. Now we have found that he is suffering from cancer. To save others from suffering a similar fate, he has launched an awareness campaign and appealed to Devgn.” “Devgn has lakhs of admirers. If all of them begin to consume these tobacco products, imagine the harm it will cause to their health,” Dinesh said.