Achievers reside only in Bollywood!
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Yes, we are living in desperate times at least that’s what brands; preferably international brands would have us believe.
Brands are out there desperately looking for known faces, page 3 individuals, models, starlets et al to endorse their products. With most known faces already taken one is left with wannabes and have-beens. Film stars come at a price especially those who are familiar names and have a fan following, negligible though they may be. What happens? Brands end up with people who once-upon-a-time graced the silver screen but failed to sizzle it. Though young they still wait for their time. Kabhi to hamara number aayega!
If you can’t get a celebrity, a celebrity photographer will do, if you can’t get a star, a handsome and young two and half film non-wonder will do.
The problem is brands have come to believe (or they are made to believe) that Indians can’t see beyond Bollywood. They are told that achievers here reside only in Planet Bollywood–and they are actors.
We have promising directors who have made names and have a huge fan following. People like Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap, Raju Hirani et al.
If they look beyond films they are likely to come across achievers like Vishwanath Anand, Baichung Bhutia, Saina Nehwal, Abhinav Bindra, A R Rehman, Vrijendra, Ayyan Ali Bangash, Aman Ali Bangash, Chetan Bhagat and others; people who are household names. When will brands come out of their film star fixation? I will wait and see.