Blaming celebrity completely for faulty product unfair: Ileana D’Cruz

Bollywood actress Ileana D’Cruz says while it is the responsibility of a celebrity to look into the brands they are endorsing, blaming them in case of faulty products is unfair.

The parliamentary panel on consumer affairs, in its recommendations on the Consumer Protection Bill-2015, has called for stringent provisions, including jail term up to five years and penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh if a celebrity endorsed product misfires.

“I think it is very easy to target an actor. When it comes to a food brand, you really don’t know the specifics, what goes in the making. And if an honest mistake happens in the factory, you can’t blame the actors by saying ‘You are responsible for selling this to people’,” Ileana told PTI.

The “Happy Ending” actress feels it can be “unfair” to a certain extent to put blame on the actors completely, but says the job comes with responsibilities too.

“To a certain extent, it could be a little bit unfair.  But yes, people do look up to you which is why brands choose you as the face. I think if you are endorsing a certain kind of product then you are pretty much going out there and saying you believe in it,” she said.

“There is a certain amount of responsibility, but blaming it completely on the actors is not right. We don’t want the worst for you, we want good things for you,” the 28-year-old “Barfi!” actress said.

Ileana today unveiled the new range of shoes of the footwear brand Skechers. For the actress, it is important to have a “personal connect” to be the face of a brand.

“I have a connect with this brand. When you’re doing something as big as a launch, there is a tiny bit of responsibility... It makes you nervous. It is very important to have a personal connection with the brand you are endorsing,” the “Main Tera Hero” actress said.

On the occasion, Ileana launched an exclusive collection of footwear for women. Asked why many actress don’t endorse fitness products, she said, “Very true. I like that women are getting involved in it now because they look much hotter in fitness gear,” she said. The actress will be next seen in Akshay Kumar-starrer “Rustom”.