11-24-2005, 01:59 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>King is gone, long live clown prince </b>
Pioneer.com
Amrita Talwar / New Delhi
Jab tak rahega samose mein aloo, tab tak rahega hamare man mein Lalu. Or so say our country's ad gurus even after Bihar packed off the Yadav leader to his most ignominious exit. Brand Lalu is as attention-grabbing as ever, feel the country's corporates, entertainment industry and advertisers. Â
"You cannot kill brand Lalu. We've got so much because of him - the legitimacy of dhoti kurta in our drawing rooms, fresh buffalo milk, jokes, his self-created English witticisms. The TRP ratings of various television channels depend on his spoofs. Whether we accept it or not, he's been a hero and heroes seldom die," says director Mahesh Bhatt. Or as dream merchant Alyque Padamsee queries, "What's a pack of cards without a joker?"
Trade journals suggest that the day Zee TV presented Lalu and Rabri on Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hain, the channel commanded a 45 per cent viewership with top of the line rival channels commanding corresponding figures of 27, 21 and eight per cent. This emboldened the channel to air that particular episode thrice. The serial, CM n Family, a take-off on Bihar's former first family, shown on Sab TV, is not being abandoned but modified to reinvent the protagonist. Says a publicist of Sab TV, "Channels recreate Lalu's persona to boost their TRP ratings. Now with him being on the other side of fortune, it will give his character another interesting edge. His fury will be even more. We will bring in a twist in the tale.'
With serial makers making fast-paced adjustments to accommodate a fallen hero, can filmmakers be far behind? Mahesh Manjrekar's Padamshree Laloo Yadav may not have raked in the moolah but director Prakash Jha is already planning his next with the RJD leader as the protagonist. "Lalu as a phenomenon will always remain. He was never a politician and never represented a true Bihar, in fact he was a behind-the-scenes Bollywood actor. For us, he will always be an axis around which a film can work," says the director.
Adman Prahlad Kakkar believes Lalu will grow bigger, more multi-dimensional than slapstick. Says he, 'Lalu is far more dangerous when he loses what is dear to him. He is a terrific spoilsport. Nitish has won but he has to contend with a person who is quite capable of destroying Bihar to get his revenge. In fact, TV channels will use his character more often, this time to explain why he lost.'
The makers of the Amul Butter campaign, which has topicality as its USP (Remember the punchline: Aloo Prasad Yadav, butterwa ho to aisa?) is not giving him up either. 'Lalu is always in the news and we will continue to feature him irrespective of him being in the hot seat or not. The fun will continue. Also TV gag star Shekhar Suman will never let the character die as his on-screen identity is based on mimicking his inspiration,' says Debjeet Kohli of DaCunha.
Advertisers feel the brand will now pick up even more as Lalu has lost the elections. "We have not made Lalu a brand, he himself has done it. He is more of an entertainer, a performer than a politician. He has it in him to keep people hooked to him with his style of politics. He has come a long way and will never die," says GC Giri, president, O&M. And people do worship him if the sales of Lalooji, the plump doll made by a Mumbai-based company, are anything to go by. By October, 500 dolls had been sold and the makers were quite hopeful of bringing that figure up to 2,000 by the time of the elections. It's a different matter that people have decided to 'play' with Lalooji in the electoral sweepstakes.
As ad analyst Radharani Mitra of Bates advertising agency, sums it up, "Lalu, the leader's loss in the elections will not affect Brand Lalu. It is a thought, one that lives in the minds of consumers. It is not what Lalu thinks he is, but what the consumer thinks Lalu is all about! Besides, among politicians, he is a clever marketer and will not let himself die."
Come to think of it, who else can compel US President George Bush to learn Bihari? Only Lalu Yadav.
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Pioneer.com
Amrita Talwar / New Delhi
Jab tak rahega samose mein aloo, tab tak rahega hamare man mein Lalu. Or so say our country's ad gurus even after Bihar packed off the Yadav leader to his most ignominious exit. Brand Lalu is as attention-grabbing as ever, feel the country's corporates, entertainment industry and advertisers. Â
"You cannot kill brand Lalu. We've got so much because of him - the legitimacy of dhoti kurta in our drawing rooms, fresh buffalo milk, jokes, his self-created English witticisms. The TRP ratings of various television channels depend on his spoofs. Whether we accept it or not, he's been a hero and heroes seldom die," says director Mahesh Bhatt. Or as dream merchant Alyque Padamsee queries, "What's a pack of cards without a joker?"
Trade journals suggest that the day Zee TV presented Lalu and Rabri on Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hain, the channel commanded a 45 per cent viewership with top of the line rival channels commanding corresponding figures of 27, 21 and eight per cent. This emboldened the channel to air that particular episode thrice. The serial, CM n Family, a take-off on Bihar's former first family, shown on Sab TV, is not being abandoned but modified to reinvent the protagonist. Says a publicist of Sab TV, "Channels recreate Lalu's persona to boost their TRP ratings. Now with him being on the other side of fortune, it will give his character another interesting edge. His fury will be even more. We will bring in a twist in the tale.'
With serial makers making fast-paced adjustments to accommodate a fallen hero, can filmmakers be far behind? Mahesh Manjrekar's Padamshree Laloo Yadav may not have raked in the moolah but director Prakash Jha is already planning his next with the RJD leader as the protagonist. "Lalu as a phenomenon will always remain. He was never a politician and never represented a true Bihar, in fact he was a behind-the-scenes Bollywood actor. For us, he will always be an axis around which a film can work," says the director.
Adman Prahlad Kakkar believes Lalu will grow bigger, more multi-dimensional than slapstick. Says he, 'Lalu is far more dangerous when he loses what is dear to him. He is a terrific spoilsport. Nitish has won but he has to contend with a person who is quite capable of destroying Bihar to get his revenge. In fact, TV channels will use his character more often, this time to explain why he lost.'
The makers of the Amul Butter campaign, which has topicality as its USP (Remember the punchline: Aloo Prasad Yadav, butterwa ho to aisa?) is not giving him up either. 'Lalu is always in the news and we will continue to feature him irrespective of him being in the hot seat or not. The fun will continue. Also TV gag star Shekhar Suman will never let the character die as his on-screen identity is based on mimicking his inspiration,' says Debjeet Kohli of DaCunha.
Advertisers feel the brand will now pick up even more as Lalu has lost the elections. "We have not made Lalu a brand, he himself has done it. He is more of an entertainer, a performer than a politician. He has it in him to keep people hooked to him with his style of politics. He has come a long way and will never die," says GC Giri, president, O&M. And people do worship him if the sales of Lalooji, the plump doll made by a Mumbai-based company, are anything to go by. By October, 500 dolls had been sold and the makers were quite hopeful of bringing that figure up to 2,000 by the time of the elections. It's a different matter that people have decided to 'play' with Lalooji in the electoral sweepstakes.
As ad analyst Radharani Mitra of Bates advertising agency, sums it up, "Lalu, the leader's loss in the elections will not affect Brand Lalu. It is a thought, one that lives in the minds of consumers. It is not what Lalu thinks he is, but what the consumer thinks Lalu is all about! Besides, among politicians, he is a clever marketer and will not let himself die."
Come to think of it, who else can compel US President George Bush to learn Bihari? Only Lalu Yadav.
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