National Film Awards: Alia Bhatt in club of Bollywood's A-list actresses

Producers and advertisers lining up to cash in on her mega star appeal

Alia Bhatt, who won the award for best actor (female) at the 69th National Film Awards for her role in the film ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ Thursday, has become Bollywood’s most bankable actress, beloved of producers as well as advertisers.

Two of Bhatt’s four latest films, RRR’ and 'Brahmastra Part 1', were amongst the top grossers of 2022. This year, her only movie so far,  ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ has been a hit with audiences in India and abroad.

Though Bhatt shared the best actress award with Kirti Sanon, who won the prize for her role in the movie ‘Mimi’, she is far and away the most popular actress in Bollywood today, apart from being one of the most sort after brand endorsers, commanding the same price as super star Deepika Padukone.

Her success is reflected in her ability to deliver box-office hits — both in India as well as in the overseas market. Her latest film ,’Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, made with a budget of Rs 178 crore and directed by Karan Johar, nearly doubled its return on investment (ROI) with worldwide collections of Rs 312 crore. The overseas collections of Rs 175 crore were in fact higher than that in India.   

Her last four films, made with a collective budget of Rs 1318 crore (see chart), provided an ROI of Rs 2198 crore from only the box-office collections in India and abroad. This excludes the sale of OTT, satellite rights and music rights. Even if one leaves out ‘RRR’, where she had a cameo role, the ROI in her other three films in 2022 was around 25 per cent.

Bhatt’s popularity is also evident from the fact that in the last 11 years, she has been able to increase her asking price and got into the club of A-list actresses. While she was paid Rs 15 lakh for her debut film in 2012, trade analysts say she charged Rs 20 crore for 'Gangubai Kathiawadi', which put her in the same league as Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. However, industry insiders say that she does not charge as much for her mentor Karan Johar’s films.       

So what is the secret of her success? Says film trade analyst Komal Nahata, “Give her any role, and she will deliver it and how. Even if it is a tiny role, such as in ‘RRR', she stands out. And if she plays the central role like she did in ‘Gangubai’ or the lead as in ‘Rocky aur Rani, she literally owns them and comes alive on the screen as few can. She is an outstanding actress and has extraordinary range.”

The CEO of one of the leading exhibitors in the country echoes the same view: “She has a strong box-office pull and marriage has not impacted her appeal. Her acting prowess is a known fact, but it is her choice of roles and the filmmakers with whom she works that has contributed to her box-office appeal,” he says.

It is this connect with the audiences which also makes her a darling of the advertisers. She has over 25 brand endorsements under her belt, including  MakeMyTrip, Aurelia, Frooti, Flipkart, Lays, Maybelline, amongst others.  Advertisers say that she currently charges Rs 3 crore for an endorsement, which is on a par with only Deepika Padukone, and much higher than what is paid to  Kiara Advani ( around Rs 1.5 crore ), Anushka Sharma ( Rs 1-1.5 crore ), Sara Ali Khan and Kareena kapoor (around Rs 1 crore) and others.

The reason, says Sundeep Goyal, managing director of advertising firm Rediffusion, is that “she gives the brands that she endorses a certain warmth and friendliness that make them fun and desirable. She is ebullient and effervescent. That, combined with a natural spontaneity, makes her charming and endearing.”

A study by Kroll, an independent provider of global risk and financial advisory solutions on the brand value of the top 10 celebrities in 2022, puts Alia Bhatt amongst those with a brand value of $102.9 million. She is ahead of the only other actress in the list, Deepika Padukone ($82.9 million). And she is fourth in the pecking order, behind Ranveer Singh, Virat Kohli and Akshay Kumar, but higher than MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Shah Rukh Khan.