Brand value

Zoya Akhtars Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara about the good life and shiny,happy people showcased an unusual debutant...

Written by PriyankaSinha

July 22, 2011 04:07 PM IST

3 min read

Zoya Akhtars Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara about the good life and shiny,happy people showcased an unusual debutantBagmati a tan/ochre Birkin bag priced at 12,000 Euros that Kabir buys for his fiancée. Well,what is exceptional is that Bagmati gets considerable screen time with the dishy cast not as mere arm-candy but a revered presence,thus christened by Imran Farhan Akhtar on account of the considerable acquisition price.

Bagmati could well be a significant point in that it announces the arrival of luxury and branded goods as entities,a narrative device almost,in time to come. In the annals of history of Hindi cinema,Karan Johar is likely to be the chief contender for introducing the concept of brands to Hindi movies. Till the time that colourful DKNY T-shirts were thrust in our faces,we were oblivious to the seduction power of brands. Our movies hitherto had depicted the lifestyle of the rich and famous complete with cigars,Cadillacs,Cashmere pullovers and Switzerland but never really named. We did not know whether the scarves were Hermes,the bags Louis Vuitton,the jewels from Bvlgari or the saris from Tarun Tahiliani. Till Kuch Kuch Hota Hai came on the scene when a foreign label got as talked about as the actors. Well,almost. The follow-up in Kal Ho Naa Ho with Burberry scarves and bag was as impressive and KANK continued with brand loyalty.

Unknown to the maker,he had set a trend. Overnight,fashion brands became household names,courtesy Dharma Productions. Almost everybody followed suit and suddenly,leading actors and actresses were turned out in Calvin Klein,Diesel,Ed Hardy,Ermenegildo Zegna,Reid amp; Taylor and Roberto Cavalli among others. For those who did not much care for foreign labels,desi designers were only too happy to step in. Overnight,names such as Aki Narula,Narendra Kumar Ahmed,Rohit Bal,Sabyasachi,Shantanu and Nikhil and Tarun Tahiliani,known only in the fashion circles,were part of common parlance. In fact,the appearance of the couturier on the movie scene has almost done away with the costume designer. So much so that even a period drama like Jodhaa-Akbar,usually the mainstay of costume designers,roped in Neeta Lulla as opposed to the Oscar-winning Bhanu Athaiya.

Interestingly,the appearance of these films coincided with growing consumerism within India. The economic liberalisation and the ensuing rise in disposable income led to new demands from a growing section of the audience; an audience that was looking for a better cinema-viewing experience. It was also a section aspiring to a lifestyle that included high-street labels,designer clothes,Louis Vuitton bags,Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo footwear and of course,Rolls Royce and Bentley. Over the last decade,the said faction has broken away from the larger Hindi movie junta audience and is now better known as the multiplex audience. It is the demographic that has spawned films with conversation as opposed to dialogues,better production values and of course,films that represent the changing lifestyles and fashion.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara holds a gilded mirror to the changing times and tastes. Heres to Bagmati. May her tribe increase!

Tags:

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Zoya Akhtar