Finally, the state government has managed to rope in megastar Amitabh Bachchan as anchor for its deaddiction campaign. And, Big B will be doing the job gratis.

Earlier, the social justice department had unsuccessfully tried for Aamir Khan as well as other Bollywood celebrities to do this campaign against alcohol and tobacco.

However, it was the Salaam Mumbai Foundation (SMF) that managed to bring round Big B for becoming the brand ambassador of the campaign. Social worker Sindhutai Sakpal will also join the campaign.

"An advertisement script prepared by SMF was approved by the social justice department and a sum of Rs78 lakh has been approved for production and broadcast. A big advertisement firm has also been roped in to produce the film," said a department official.

"...We are making three ads – one against alcohol and two against tobacco," said social justice minister Shivajirao Moghe. Incidentally, Bachchan was also the brand ambassador for Gujarat’s campaign.