Celebrity under fire for endorsing gaming platform: Sachin Tendulkar faced political backlash for Paytm First Game ad

Iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's involvement in an online gaming advertisement wasn’t taken well by viewers. Tendulkar was a part of Paytm’s First Game promotional campaign. There was a protest held against Tendulkar’s involvement in the ad. However, not from consumers but from a political faction. Independent MLA Bachchu Kadu’s party workers gathered in protest outside Sachin Tendulkar’s house. The protestors, led by Bachchu Kadu were soon taken to Bandra Police Station.

The protest was held only two days after Kadu, the former Minister of State in Government of Maharashtra threatened Tendulkar with a legal notice. “We are compelled to take this step as a Bharat Ratna recipient should not endorse such apps, which are ruining the lives of youths,” he said.

The MLA also said that they had given Tendulkar time till August 30 to withdraw from the advertisement. Since there was no reply, he was forced to send him a legal notice.

Paytm First Game is a fantasy online gaming app. It allows users to play online games and win Real Cash amounts.

There have been similar instances with other celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, where protests were held outside his bungalow Mannat last week. After the protests, the security outside the bungalow was increased. However, these protests were held by viewers of the ad, not a political entities.

Shah Rukh Khan endorses pan masala brand Vimal as well as online gaming platform A23. Other celebrities such as Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar too endorse Vimal pan masala. Amitabh Bachchan as well as Ranveer Singh too have been seen endorsing Kamla Pasand, another pan masala brand. MS Dhoni has promoted Pokerstars, an online poker platform, Nawazuddin Siddique has promoted Lotus365 and more.