New stars on the horizon

Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra are the flavour of the season with marketers.

Ever since the fortunes of Team India took a nosedive (think WorldCup) and the cricket board restraint on the number of endorsement deals players can undertake, a new set of celebrity endorsers "" filmstars Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra "" appear to be raking in the moolah.

Roshan has no less than eight brands in his kitty with Acer and Sony Ericsson the latest additions to his kitty of Parle, Tata Sky (a three-month promotional deal rather than a full-fledged contract), John Players and Coke.

Afsar Zaidi, president, Carving Dreams Entertainment, says "Hrithik is one star who reaches out to people across all age groups." Zaidi's company has been handling Roshan for a couple of years now.

Although Zaidi does not disclose any figures, he says Roshan is certainly among the top two-three in terms of endorsement fees (Rs 4-5 crore).

Chopra too has been raking in the moolah. While her peers, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta, seem to have hit a dead end as far as endorsements are concerned, she has raced ahead. Spice Telecom, Tag Heuer, Pepsi, Lux and, more recently, Hero Honda scooterette Pleasure, are just a few of the growing list of endorsements.

"Priyanka reaches out to the youth," says Vinita Bangar, COO, Percept Talent Management, which manages her endorsements. Chopra commands a fee in the range of Rs 1.5 crore, but is still well behind Aishwarya Rai who, though choosy, is a favourite with marketers for her global appeal.

Percept is in the process of finalising three or four other brands for Chopra and, according to Bangar, are looking at newer avenues around Brand Priyanka.

"We are looking at the digital and animation media to set her apart from the normal realms of branding. She represents GenX in the film industry and such avenues will suit her profile."

A senior advertising executive says, "Brands are looking beyond the usual suspects "" the Bachchans and Khans "" so we see newer faces coming in." Like cricketers, though, filmstars' endorsements are only as good as their last movie.