Will Big Brother help Shilpa at home?

MUMBAI: If all’s well that ends well, Shilpa Shetty has reasons to cheer about her stint in London. The symbolic rags-to-riches race is over and the actress has splashed headlines — starting from racial attacks — bagging the Big Brother crown and down to the wealth she accumulated thereafter.

But what about her opportunities and career back home in India? The actress, who took the tinsel town by storm first with her power-packed glam quotient in the Bollywood flick Baazigar, has been at the receiving end in the recent past for her series of flop movies.

Of late, she was rarely seen on the ad endorsement circuit in the country. For, the marketers here didn’t want to depend on this “not so successful” and “not popular enough celebrity” for brand endorsements.

Now, the glorious crown of Big Brother has not only set international eyeballs on Shetty but also got her some lip-smacking moolah as well.

Reportedly, Shetty has bagged approximately Rs 90 lakh by winning the coveted crown. Along with that, she has swooped roughly Rs 45 crore as part of her interview contracts and endorsements abroad. If the grapevine is to be believed, she has also bagged a Hollywood movie deal.

However, now with international media going gaga over her charisma — and with the support of political leadership in India and Britain — will things change for Shetty on the domestic front?

Prasoon Joshi, executive chairman, McCann-Erickson India, says, “Firstly Big Brother is an international show and the audiences who judged the final verdict were not Indian. Moreover, the show is not even popular in our country. Therefore, if the brand value of Shilpa Shetty goes up in India, it will be because of Indian media drooling over her success. Nonetheless, this victory will definitely boost her image in the country.” Experts also say that celebrities are brought on board for a brand endorsement only depending on their popularity metre, something that Shetty had lost with the slump in her career.

However, Shetty can take heart in some recent comeback stories which, though, are different from hers. Cricketer Saurav Ganguly rose from the ashes following which there was an avalanche of brand endorsements for him. Therefore, will it be correct to say that brand endorsements somewhere also depend on the act of heroism attached to fame?

“Ganguly struggled to play the same game that he used to play during the beginning of his career and he is back in action through hard work. Shetty never had any legacy of good films to back her. She can now try and capitalise this ‘success’ to do deliver some good work in India. Whatever she has now looks like a short-term benefit.

However, to keep it going, Shetty needs more successes in her booty,” says Joshi.

However, there are others in the advertising industry who feel that Shetty’s brand value will definitely go up with this success. Sangeetha Shetty, executive vice-president, creative, RK Swammy/BBDO, says, “Shetty was an Indian representative at an international show and she has done her job with great dignity. Therefore, categories with NRIs as target group, such as financial products, real estate, etc. would now consider this actress as a prospective brand ambassador.”