Khan is the first Indian actor to sign on as the global ambassador for Lux soap, marketed in the South Asian country as the beauty soap of movie stars, said Hindustan Lever Ltd., the Indian arm of multinational Unilever Limited, which makes the soap.

The Indian star follows in the footsteps of Hollywood legend Paul Newman, who was the first male actor to endorse the brand, Hindustan Lever said. Newman’s ads appeared in the West, not India.

Khan, 39, was signed on as the brand’s global ambassador, and the picture of him lying shirtless in a bathtub filled with pink and red rose petals is part of a promotional blitz to mark 75 years of Lux in India.

The macho Khan, who has played the romantic lead and action hero in more than 60 Indian movies since his 1992 debut, said he was thrilled about the ads.

Responding to news that he was following Newman’s lead, Khan told The Hindustan Times newspaper: “But I’m sure he wasn’t in a tub of water with rose petals around him.”

Nearly 50 Indian actresses from yesteryear, including heroines Meena Kumari and Madhubala, to current favorites such as Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta have modeled for the product and had their face splashed on soap wrappers and billboards.