Bollywood celebrities endorsing products such as tobacco, cigarettes, pan masala, or appearing in surrogate advertisements have constantly found themselves amidst controversy. However, in a bizarre turn of events, an upset Nashik man has launched a unique initiative targeting Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn for promoting online casino games.
A video has recently gone viral on the internet, showing an unidentified man parking his scooter in the middle of a busy street in Nashik. In the viral video, it can be seen that he has installed a placard on his two-wheeler with Hindi text saying, “Bheek Maango Andolan for Ajay Devgn”.
Announcing from a loudspeaker, the man can be heard saying that he is collecting alms which he will send to the Bollywood actor and he will urge him not to promote online casino games.
This man from Nashik is collecting alms for actor @ajaydevgn pic.twitter.com/SRgdaemUfG
— IWC MUMBAI (@IWCMumbai) July 23, 2023
For those unversed, in March 2023, Junglee Rummy signed Ajay Devgn as their Newest Brand Ambassador.
Further, in the video, the unidentified man asserts that he is opposed to online gaming and its advertisements. He adds that despite the fact that these sportspersons and Bollywood celebrities have so much by the grace of God, yet, they choose to promote online gaming which has a bad influence on the youth.
The man asks why Ajay Devgn need to play and promote online games when he is already so rich. The man adds then why is he brainwashing the youth. “This is wrong, that is why I am doing this movement. All you need to do is click a photograph and video of this and send it to others. Let it reach the actor and let him see this,” he said.
The man categorically states that online games in which youth loses money should be banned.
Afterwards, he announces that he will run a “Bheek Maango Andolan” (movement to collect alms) and will beg on the streets to collect money. According to him, he will then send the alms to Ajay Devgn and request him not to be a part of such advertisements.
The man said, “I have decided that I will run this ‘Bheek Maango Andolan’, and beg on the streets to collect money, which I will then send to Ajay Devgn with the request to stop being part of such ads.”
He also states that he will be ready to beg again if the actor requires more money. However, he requested the actor to not do any such advertisement for the sake of money. He added, “If you need more money, I will again beg and send you money, but you are requested not to be a part of such advertisements. I am making this request in Gandhigiri style.”
Junglee Rummy has released several advertisements featuring Ajay Devgn, where he is heard saying that it is the most perfect platform for online Rummy, and urges people to download the app. At the end of the ads, there is a standard disclaimer saying that there is a risk of getting addicted or facing financials problems with the game.
This viral video came at a time when a person in Maharashtra lost around 58 crores in an online game. There are many more cases where individuals have lost their hard-earned life deposits in these online games, many of whom, unfortunately, ended their life as a result of it. While many others have ended up being caught in a debt trap.
Earlier, in June, this year, a man named Vilas Prataprao Shinde from Nanded City in Maharashtra wrote a letter to Ajay Devgn asking him how much money he has won playing online on Junglee Rummy. He claimed that he is not sure whether the Singham star plays the game, however, he influences young minds to play this addictive and destructive game.
