From Poster Girls to Kitchen Queens

Now as she tells us to buy basmati rice,many are trying to come to terms with Madhuri Aunty. By modelling for Neesa Basmati Rice and Food Food channel,she has joined an increasing number of India’s once-at-the-top heroines who now sell domesticity and chips. Consider the slew of examples. Kajol is the brand ambassador of Knorr Soups,Olay anti-Ageing cream,Alpenliebe candy and Whirlpool appliances. Karisma Kapoor is the face of Shakti Bhog Atta,Puretta Baby Wipes and Kellogg’s. Sridevi of Hawa Hawai sensuality is seen in ads for Vanish Stain removers while Dixit-Nene also sells Comfort Fabric Conditioner and X-Pert Aquashine utensil cleaner.

Amitabh Bachchan endorses Reid and Taylor but,for the actresses,it has to be soap and soup,nothing more. “There’s nothing to stop Madhuri or Kajol from endorsing a clothing line or a make-up product. It’s just that India is a very young country. Our apparel ads mostly feature young,hip models. Bachchan endorsing a suit brand is different. Suits are for the older generation,for the successful man,who has ‘arrived’,” explains Rohit Ohri,Executive Chairman,Dentsu India Group.

Veteran ad filmmaker Alyque Padamsee recalls that it was Hema Malini who started the trend of a comeback through brand endorsements when she did a water-purifier ad. “It is good to see these actresses on screen,though their choice in products could have been more innovative,” adds Padamsee. Some fans are taken aback. Ramesh Sethi,52,a businessman and an ardent fan of Dixit for the last 25 years,agrees,“It is weird to see the dhak dhak girl selling chawal . I don’t like it at all.”

Ohri adds another perspective. “Actresses have to move on from the ‘beauty products’ phase. Young actresses can endorse a truckload of products and their faces are all over TV. When a mature actress endorses a ‘family product’,it makes it more believable for the consumer,” he says.

But what makes the actresses choose household products? “It is a way of being in the loop,being seen on TV. I always pick a product that I myself can and will use. I cannot do the ads these young girls do. They are at a different stage in their life and we are at a different one. My films give me the credibility to tell the consumer to choose my product. I am a mom and I endorse such products as they suit my stage in life,” says Juhi Chawla.

Padamsee,who,as always,believes that age is no bar and that Bachchan senior should endorse condoms,would even like the actresses to have more fun,“I think they are being a little too respectful,which becomes boring after a while. They should be a little adventurous,break the formula.”