Alokananda Chakraborty Posted online: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 1426 hours IST Updated: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 1437 hours IST
New Delhi, December 12: Since his entry into Bollywood in 1992 as the eponymous Raju in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Shah Rukh Khan has starred in 56 Hindi films (including his latest release, Don, and Chak de India, slated for launch next year). Amitabh Bachchan’s first film, Saat Hindustani, his only black-and-white film, was released in 1969. Since then he has appeared in over 170 films, including a dozen slated for release in 2007.
So, why are we comparing Shah Rukh with Amitabh Bachchan?
That question is easily answered, especially if you have been watching television and reading newspapers. Shah Rukh, the brand, has the same ‘self-made man’ persona that the man in the street associates with—something that made Amitabh a phenomenon.
The stark difference in physical appearance aside, the diminutive Shah Rukh has been ferociously knocking home hits in much the same fashion that Amitabh did in the ’70s and ’80s. In other words, consistency in performance, a quality every marketer worth his salt wants in his brand.
Here’s a sampler. Between 1995 and 2005, one or the other of Shah Rukh’s films have been among the top five box-office grossers of the year—with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (net gross: Rs 58 crore) leading the pack in 1995 and Veer Zaara (net gross: Rs 41 crore) in 2004.
And it’s not just their performance on the big screen. There are striking similarities in their brand endorsements, too. Shah Rukh has endorsed 24 brands (including colas, biscuits, hair oil, consumer durables, financial products, chyawanprash, soaps… not to forget his contribution to the government-sponsored pulse polio campaign), appearing in over 100 commercials.
Coming to Bachchan, he may not be the highest paid actor—that honour goes to Shah Rukh with Aamir Khan close behind — but he has held forth for 27 brands (his face has helped sell colas, cars, chocolates, pens, paints, chyawanprash, suit material, and polio drops) and made an appearance in over 75 commercials.
In short, if you have a brand in need, you have two choices: get Shah Rukh or Amitabh.
"They are very safe bets, to put it bluntly,” says a marketing executive with a Delhi-based FMCG company. “At least, at this point in time, given that we have no cricketing icons to choose from. There was a time when if a cricketer hit three 50s in a row, companies would fall over each other to sign him up. Now that scenario is unthinkable.”
Of course, things will change once Indian cricket manages to haul itself out of its rough patch. But until then, flip any channel at prime time and you will have one or the other peddling their endorsed brands with a smile.
New Delhi, December 12: Since his entry into Bollywood in 1992 as the eponymous Raju in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Shah Rukh Khan has starred in 56 Hindi films (including his latest release, Don, and Chak de India, slated for launch next year). Amitabh Bachchan’s first film, Saat Hindustani, his only black-and-white film, was released in 1969. Since then he has appeared in over 170 films, including a dozen slated for release in 2007.
