Saurav Ganguly’s heart attack brings worries to Fortune house

Adani Wilmar Group has halted all the advertisements of its Fortune Rice Bran Cooking Oil featuring Sourav Ganguly who suffered with a heart attack on Saturday. Following the news of Ganguly’s health, Fortune brand found itself in a social media debacle with people questioning the brand’s credibility.

“We wish our dearest Dada, Sourav Ganguly, a speedy recovery and he will continue to be our brand ambassador. This is a very unfortunate incident and can happen to anyone. We have only taken a temporary break in our TV commercial till we again sit with him and take things forward,” Angshu Mallick, deputy chief executive of Adani Wilmar said.

Explaining the situation Mallick said, “Sourav Ganguly became our brand ambassador endorsing our fortune rice bran oil. The rice bran oil is not a medicine but only a cooking oil. There are several factors which affect heart ailments including dietary and hereditary issues.”

Mallick further added: “Rice bran oil is one of the healthiest oil and it contains natural antioxidants, and the gama oryzonal present in the oil reduces bad cholesterol and improves lipid profile. Recently we heard about a senior IT executive collapsed on a treadmill while exercising. Does that mean the treadmill is bad? According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and American Heart Association (AHA), rice bran oil has a best possible composition of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fats as compared to other vegetable oils. Even the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has found that rice bran oil contains MUFA, Omega-6 PUFA, and natural antioxidants like oryzanol, tocopherols and tocotrienols, which lower bad cholesterol levels.”

According to available industry data, Fortune is the category leader in the 1.2 million-tonne branded rice bran oil market with a market share of 35%. The company had launched the rice bran edible oil in 2013.

Dr Shetty met the medical team of nine doctors attending to Ganguly at the Woodlands Hospital and a further course of action was decided by the Hospital on Tuesday.  Dr Rupali Basu MD and CEO of Woodlands Hospital on Tuesday said Ganguly will be discharged on Wednesday and thereafter he will be monitored at home on daily basis.