Two decades on, that is not a connect any oil company would want. No company would dare to sell cooking oil showing any fried stuff - and certainly not the deep-fried flour fritters dipped in sugar syrup.
Why?
Because no matter how strenuously a Bollywood song makes the point, "Dil toh baccha hai ji" (the heart is just a child), the fact -- rather heart -- of the matter is that it's growing old and needs to be controlled.
"I just cannot make head or tail of all those descriptions given on the labels," admitted Prisha Mandavya, a homemaker in Gurgaon.
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Adding to the confusion, she said, are the numerous kinds of oils and the many brands, each saying it is good for the heart.
A glance at the oil section in not just the supermarket but even the neighbourhood kirana store bears her out. Olive, palm, soybean, canola, corn, peanut, rice bran the list is bewildering.
Notwithstanding what ads might claim, all oils are made of fats and each comes with its own cons, say doctors.
"When the foundation of extracting oil from nuts is against nature, how can we have any oil that is 'good for the heart'?" Dr Devi Shetty, amongst India's top cardiologists, had asked in an article titled, 'Diet Comes First in Matters of the Heart'.
So there is no best cooking oil that ticks all the boxes, though some may be a notch better than others.
"So oils which have higher content of MUFAs are better... this makes oils like olive oil, mustard oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, canola oil and groundnut oil relatively better for the heart," added Dr Kumar.
Doctors, nutritionists and chefs also caution that no one oil fits all kinds of cooking. Different oils should be used for baking, sauting and salad dressings.
"There is no need to stick to only one cooking oil. Pure refined olive oil, for instance, is good for cooking where you pan fry or saut things because it has a higher smoking point and extra virgin oil is best for dressing salads because it has a relatively low smoking point," Chef Prem K Pogula, executive chef, The Imperial Hotel, told PTI.
He added that those who ate deep-fried food such as French fries frequently should not worry about cooking oil as they are anyway "not going to have a healthy heart".
For occasional fast-food eating, he strongly recommends peanut oil.
"For deep-fried, stick to peanut oil and cook your food at home, he said.
If your worry is only limited to cholesterol - widely stated to be enemy No 1 for the heart - plant-based oils are the solution.
"No plant products and no plant oil contains cholesterol... no plants can make cholesterol because cholesterol is produced in the liver of animals or human beings.
Plant based oils include almond oil, avocado seed oil, flaxseed oil and coconut oil.
Advocating restraint, chef Sanjeev Kapoor, a household name in cooking, has a simple solution to all the questions -- "Don't overdo anything and you are safe!"
"Every oil has calories. Yes, one can be better than other in some ways but that is about it. My recommendation is don't overdo anything -- goes for both good and bad oils -- exercise, eat vegetables and fruits, and you'll do just fine," said the chef.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content