Shark Tank India 5: Angry Anupam Mittal warns ‘fraud’ pitcher of jail time, Kunal Bahl urges no one to invest

The new season of Shark Tank India has begun with Season 5, and it has already delivered high drama. One of the most controversial moments, perhaps of the entire Shark Tank India, so far came with a pitch by Dr Manoj Das, the founder of a aromatherapy and naturopathy brand Lewisia Wellness, whose claims left the entire panel of ‘Sharks’ visibly upset. During his pitch, Manoj claimed to be a doctor and asserted that his products could cure every disease faced by his customers. He further claimed that his brand’s products could treat skin and hair problems and were extracted from natural ingredients, completely chemical-free. Manoj Das asked for Rs 1 crore in exchange for 1 percent equity in his company. However, the panel of ‘Sharks’ including Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Kunal Bahl, Namita Thapar and the new entrant Mohit Yadav questioned his practices and claims.

Manoj was openly called a “fraud” by the panel, with the Sharks calling out what they termed as his malpractices and misleading claims, eventually shutting him down for allegedly deceiving customers. Here’s everything that unfolded during this dramatic pitch at the Tank.

Before becoming a founder, Manoj Das was a content creator. He introduced himself as an aromatherapist, a practitioner who uses essential oils and aromatic plant extracts to support physical and emotional well-being. He went on to launch Lewisia Wellness, which he claimed uses only natural ingredients to make skin, hair, and healthcare solutions. He has over 6,00,000 followers on Instagram and 3.7 million subscribers on YouTube.

Manoj said he had completed a beauty culture certification course and trained beauticians across India through seminars. He then started making videos online, which helped him gain lakhs of followers and crores of views. According to him, this success inspired him to start a brand based on his knowledge. He eventually launched four brands under Lewisia Wellness.

The judges on the panel included Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital; Namita Thapar, Executive Director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals; Aman Gupta, co-founder and CMO of boAt; Anupam Mittal, founder and director of Shaadi.com; and Mohit Yadav, co-founder of skincare brand Minimalist.

Aman Gupta was quick to question the claims. He said, “You said that you were troubled by chemicals but your products have chemicals.” Mohit Yadav, who belongs to the same field as he is the founder of skin care brand Minimalist, added, “Everything is chemical in this. In a way water is also a chemical. When people say their product doesn’t have chemicals, I find it a mis-study. I may have a different view.”

One of the most pointed moments came when Anupam asked, “I am doubting you creditability a lot. Have you done a clinical study of your hair growth serum?” When the founder admitted he hadn’t, the Shark responded, “Then how are you claiming it is a hair growth serum?”

Manoj claimed that his brand did Rs 10 crore in sales in 2024–2025, with a profit of Rs 4 crore. He further stated that he was expecting to mint Rs 15 crore in sales in FY 2026. These figures shocked Aman Gupta, while Anupam Mittal burst out laughing at the numbers.

“Your reels are very provocative and which is why your business has grown,” Anupam remarked as they watched clips of Manoj’s social media content where he promised to regrow hair or get blemish-free skin. Anupam added, “Your big claims are baseless. You are provoking viewers and using their need to look good.”

He further asked, “Can you write doctor if you are a aromatherapist and naturopath?” When the founder insisted that he could, Anupam shot back, “I will change my name if you can add doctor to yours.” Aman also reacted strongly, saying, “This is a fraud case if you can’t put doctor in your name.”

After noticing the brand’s low ratings on Amazon, Anupam remarked, “Kya kand karne aai ho? (What scandal have you come to commit?)” Kunal Bahl also grilled the founder and questioned, “How can you claim that we will cure all diseases?” Aman added bluntly, “Very bad.”

Namita Thapar and Mohit Yadav were among the first two Sharks to opt out. Explaining his decision, Mohit said, “You are creating clickbait content based on users insecurity. You are trying to sell unscientific products and using doctor before your name is fraud.” Namita Thaparcalled the brand “unethical” and opted out as well. She said, “You can’t declare so many sales here, you should be ashamed not proud.”

Kunal Bahl also declared, “I am out,” and delivered a strong dressing down to the founder, adding, “I hope nobody else invests in this company.” Aman Gupta opted out next, saying, “I will do wrong with the country if I invest in this.” Anupam Mittal called the pitch a “disservice” and warned Manoj bluntly, “You will go to jail if you come under scanner.” He also told him thrice that he is out, later telling other ‘Sharks’, “Sometimes you want to exit a pitch multiple times”.