Big Bazaar to Star TV, brands sign up local stars to bridge language gap

The growing regional pie is forcing brands into bigger investments for local markets, and therefore, faces that click in those places.

With the growing clout of the regional, non-English speaking consumer, non-Bollywood celebrities are increasingly finding a big, bright spot under the endorsement sun. Brands from a range of categories and companies including the Future Group, Tata Sky, Hindustan Unilever and Star TV are seeking out stars that appeal to regional consumers. This includes Tollywood A-listers such as Rana Daggubatti and Prabhas, Punjabi actor Diljit Dosanjh and Bengali  star Prosenjit Chatterjee among others.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) recently announced its association with music composer Ilaiyaraja to woo tourists from Tamil Nadu. GB Srithar, regional director (South Asia, Middle East and