At a time when mega-stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Akshay Kumar are brazenly promoting cancerous pan masalas through their Zuban Kesari ads, Bollywood's youngest superstar Karthik Aaryan has rejected a multi-crore tempting ad deal for the same, according to a report by Bollywood Hungama.

A prominent ad-guru confirmed the same saying, “That’s right. That boy Kartik Aaryan has said no to around Rs. 8-9 crore offer to endorse paan masala. Kartik seems to have principles, a rare commodity in today’s actors who suffer from the gift of the ‘grab’. Saying no to such big money is not easy. But Kartik is conscious of his responsibility as a youth icon.”

Earlier actors like Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan who started appearing in pan masala ads had to face flak for the same. Pan masala a highly carcinogenic product is consumed by approximately 21% of people over 15 years of age in India. It is one of the leading causes of oral cancers and often healthcare experts have called for the ban of it.

Akshay Kumar is known for being a fitness freak and promoter of a healthy lifestyle among people, his endorsement of pan masala caused a huge controversy due to his hypocritical approach in his brand endorsement. The actor apologized to his fans on Twitter, stating he would be more cautious about the products he endorsed in the future. Last year Amitabh Bacchan too was caught up in a similar controversy.

Actors have an immense influential impact on our society especially the youth, the kind of people-centric step taken by Karthik Aaryan in the early stage of his career deserves credit. Interestingly Karthik Aaryan has always been closer to the masses not only this time but also in the past, different from other Bollywood actors & families. He was one of the few actors who wished people on the commencement of the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya 2 years back.