What Rs 25 crore?

Bollywood is abuzz with rumours that golden couple Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have charged a whopping Rs 25 crore to appear in an ad for a beauty soap that Ash already endorses.

Bollywood is abuzz with rumours that golden couple Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have charged a whopping Rs 25 crore to appear in an ad for a beauty soap that Ash already endorses. Father-daughter duo Anil and Sonam Kapoor have apparently charged Rs 15 crore for their very first ad together for a pen brand.

HT Image

Advertising gurus, however, have shot down the figures as “impossible” in the current economic situation. Adman Prahlad Kakkar says, “25 crore! Ash charges Rs 4.5 crore for international brands and Rs 2 crore for Indian ones.” He adds, “If they’re getting Rs 25 crore for an ad, it better be steamy — both need to be in the same bath tub, minimally dressed, and Abhishek needs to wax his chest. The ad should lead to a debate in Parliament and the country should come to halt for a month.” Celeb manager Sonu Lakhwani says, “This figure is exaggerated given the state of the ad industry. For a one minute ad, no brand would pay such an amount, no matter who the celebrity is.”

On the contrary, they say, celebs are cutting down fees to counter competition. “They fear losing ads since there’s a celeb available in every price range,” says Lakhwani.