Diwali with Retail

God flicks do it, sci-fi does it. Can love stories and dramas be far behind? Mumbai's increasingly corporatised film world has in recent years married its potboiler movies with brand promotion, resulting in special effects. Now, it is riding even bigger with the retail revolution. Consider the fact that brand promotions revenue from one movie alone will fetch more than the annual net profit of a decent small cap company.

Animated mythological movie Hanuman and science-fiction hit Krrish tasted success with merchandise based on their theme and stories. This year, two of Bollywood's most anticipated films are taking the phenomenon in movie production to the next level.

Come Diwali, the big budget movies, Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya will fight it out at the box office as they release on November 9. Industry sources say both cost more than Rs. 30 crore to make. Understandably, the producers are trying to use every avenue to pull in revenues.

While the makers of Saawariya have entered into a deal with Big Bazaar tycoon Kishore Biyani’s Future Group, for a Saawariya line of products, the producers of the rival Shah Rukh Khan starrer are introducing a Om Shanti Om clothing line through Shoppers’ Stop.

Navin Shah, CEO, P9 integrated, the marketing agency that manages brand associations with Saawariya says, “The deal is of the size of Rs 10 crore. This will mark an important episode in film-merchandising.”

Pooja Kashyap, general manager, overseas marketing, syndication and merchandising, P9 Integrated, said the Saawariya line of products will cover male apparel, home products and beauty products. "The packaging of these products and look will closely wear the template of Saawariya," she said, adding that the Future Group will get the presentation credit.

The male apparel category will feature youth-oriented oriented clothes such as jackets, cargo pants and T-shirts, in line with the movie's story.

“The hero, Ranvir Kapoor is clad in such outfits in the movie and is himself a young actor- so that make sense. Additionally, there will be Saawariya lines of bed linen, towels and pillow covers. We will also have like nail-polishes and other cosmetic products in the beauty range”,she said.

The deal between Future Group and the producer will see a certain minimum sales guarantee given by the Future Group. Officials close to the deal are tight-lipped on the details. There will also be a fixed certain percentage of the sales which will go as a royalty to the film’s producer.