Shah Rukh Khan swears by his cola

MUMBAI: Soft drink manufacturers, facing flak for the presence of pesticide residues in their products, got a celebrity shot in the arm on Monday when actor Shah Rukh Khan came out strongly in support of colas, particularly Pepsi, the brand he endorses.

Khan was addressing a press conference as a watch company's brand ambassador. "My intention is not to defend the brand I endorse," he said. "But I would like to ask the agency (which tested the soft drinks for pesticides) whether they have analysed how safe is the water we drink or if mother's milk also contains harmful chemicals?"

Khan said he was only doing his job and would stop endorsing Pepsi if the government issued a directive to that effect. "Neither the people who are pulling down hoardings nor the faces on those hoardings have a right to sit in judgement over what is safe and what is not," he said. "The final call will have to be taken by central agencies."

The actor admitted that he still drinks Pepsi despite the controversy and knows many others who do so. On a lighter note, he said, "If Pepsi is banned in India I will go to the US and drink it."