Actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt charge Rs 1.5-3 crore for ad shoot: Lipstick brand signed Sidharth Malhotra to cut costs

“We had very little money,” he shared. “If we approached a top actress, her per-day rate was between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. And most of them wouldn’t sign for less than a three-day contract. Once they endorse a beauty brand, it blocks that category for them, so they demand long-term deals — sometimes up to three years. We simply couldn’t afford that.” Faced with this challenge, Darpan and his team decided to think outside the box.

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“Then I thought, ‘why not get a male celebrity to endorse a beauty product, specifically lipstick?’” he said.

The logic was simple yet revolutionary. “A male movie star never gets a lipstick contract, so his opportunity cost is zero. It doesn’t affect his brand endorsements. He’s more likely to agree for a short, half-day shoot at a reasonable cost. Plus, no one had ever used a male star to promote lipstick before — that alone would make it stand out.”

After considering several names, the team landed on Sidharth Malhotra — the charming Punjabi heartthrob. “We finally got Sidharth — good-looking, confident, and perfect for the concept. We made him go shirtless with lipstick marks all over him,” Darpan recounted with a laugh. When asked if Ranveer Singh was a choice, he laughed that they probably “couldn’t afford” him.

Around the same time, the Government of India had banned animal testing, creating a timely opportunity for a powerful message. “Our tagline was: ‘Tested on Sid, not on animals’ — with his photo covered in lipstick marks. It went viral instantly. And we did it all within the budget we had,” Darpan said.

He also spoke about why celeb endorsement doesn’t always lead to success. He said for any campaign to succeed, celebs need to be deeply involved with the brands, as consumers are looking for authenticity. He gave the example of designer Manish Malhotra and how he worked on his beauty brand. It was launched by Manish in partnership with Darpan. “Ek creative pass karane mei mehnat lagti thi (To get every creative passed, it took us a lot of hard work). To get a copy or a product approved because they made sure that everything is absolutely as per their guidelines and what Manish stands for. Manish was very involved,” he said explaining how Manish was deeply involved with the brand and maintaining the designer’s standards.

“When you make a product align with a celebrity, authenticity is important. The consumer has to believe that the celebrity has made that product and that they will only believe if that celebrity is qualified to do so.” He added, “In Manish’s case, what worked was that he is one of the best designers in the country, and fashion is also about colour. Make-up is very important with clothes, and that’s where that credibility was very instant.”