Imitation of his voice for ‘gutka’ promotion riles Big B

NEW DELHI - Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan is angry because his voice has been imitated to promote a ‘gutka’ company. He feels it is unethical and shows him in bad light.

I was shocked to read a comment from a dear extended family of how a ‘gutka’ manufacturer was using my imitated voice to flog his product. Now, not only is this unethical and wrong, it paints me in bad light as well, Bachchan posted on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com.

The 68-year-old is particularly upset that his identity is being used for something he does not consume.

‘Gutka’ is tobacco-oriented (powder) mixed with various other banned ingredients, which has become a huge consumption interest among Indians the world over.

For someone that does not smoke or propagate smoking or any kind of intoxicant, by keeping away from endorsing such products, it is most disgusting to find someone conflagrating the law of the land and the law of ethics, if ever they possessed one, he added.

Amitabh hopes to take relevant steps to stop this illegal practice and introduce elements bound by contract to see that such practices are not repeated in the future.

The actor is against imitation and wants the film fraternity to speak in favour of copyright protection.

Copyright protection has been an unknown or ignored factor at least in our film profession and I would earnestly urge all my colleagues to initiate strict legal procedures through recognised organisations to protect themselves and in turn the public at large too.

Selling or seeking commercial gain through imitation and caricatured images of a Shah Rukh (Khan), Salman (Khan) or Aamir (Khan) without authority and consent, is wrong and unjust and illegal. And those that perpetrate this practice must be made aware that there can be serious repercussions to it, he added.