A top Bollywood actor has launched a campaign against a new law which raises the legal drinking age for hard liquor from 21 to 25 in India's western Maharashtra state.

The measure, which was passed earlier this month, includes fines for illegal drinking and a ban on serving alcohol at public functions. Additionally, the legal age for buying beer and wine was raised from 18 to 21.

Actor Imran Khan said Thursday he plans to challenge the new law in court because it curtails freedom of choice for an age group considered mature enough to make many other important decisions, such as choosing the government, choosing a life partner, or serving in the military.

The voting age in India is 18. Girls can legally marry at 18 and boys at 21, although the law is flouted, especially in rural areas.

Khan's campaign has strong support among many young people in India's financial and entertainment hub, Mumbai, the state capital of Maharashtra. Those under 25 say the new law is unlikely to prevent them from drinking and will only turn something harmless into a crime.

But Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the law is not an effort at moral policing, but at tackling a social problem which he says “stresses the health system and destroys families.”