Despite their age difference, what unites Khan and Bachchan is their supreme ability to sell anything.
Both share a unique ability to sell anything
Amelia Gentleman
The king is dead. Long live the king! This was the spirit of a recent announcement that the reigning titan of India’s film industry, Amitabh Bachchan, was being replaced as host of the nation’s most popular television programme by the younger star, Shah Rukh Khan.
More than just television trivia, the news hinted at the passing of an era, the handing of a Bollywood crown from one generation to another. The significance of the moment was reflected in the front-page coverage and editorial analysis it received. The two actors are megastars on a level unmatched by their rivals. No one bothers with their full names. They are the Big B and King Khan. While the fortunes of most of their peers in Bollywood flare and wane according to their latest films, these two have an enduring appeal, impervious to the occasional cinematic flop.
Despite their age difference, what unites Khan and Bachchan is their supreme ability to sell anything. More than mere Bollywood heroes, they are gods of the marketing world. Both have become walking billboards, and between them, they represent a prized gateway to the sought-after middle-class Indian spender. Since it started in 2000, the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” (“Kaun Banega Crorepati”) has been hosted with sober dignity by Bachchan, 64. No programme on Indian television (since satellite was introduced in the 1990s) has been as popular as this game show. With its implicit approbation of avarice, it hit a chord at a moment when India was becoming obsessed with consumption and wealth promising a path to riches much swifter than the government’s poverty eradication schemes. At its peak it was taking 75% of the audience share.
Star TV, whose fortune in India rests on the success of this flagship game show, revealed last week that the cheekier, younger Khan, 41, would be taking over from next year.
There was a certain logic to this Bollywood succession announcement. No other star comes as close to the stature of Bachchan as Khan does. The two men are figureheads of middle-class India, and each represents the experiences of his own generation. When Bachchan decided he no longer wanted to host the show (after an enforced break from work caused by painful stomach surgery), Star TV executives decided a younger star would give the show a needed face-lift.
“There is a new, booming, exciting generation out there. Fifty percent of the country is below the age of 30. Shah Rukh Khan will speak to them,” said Sameer Nair, chief executive of Star Entertainment in India. Naturally, the show’s producers are guided by a keen business sense. The cost of a 30-second advertising slot in the new series has risen by 30% as a result of signing up Khan as host.
Advertisers describe Bachchan as “India’s most saleable face”. On top of filming nine movies, last year he advertised everything from Pepsi, pens, hair oil, diamonds, suits, bank accounts, chocolate, antiseptic cream, batteries, diet supplements and real estate, to washing powder.
Ashwani Singla, CEO of the public relations company Genesis Burson-Marsteller, said: “Bachchan represents the aspirations of a generation. He has gone from being a rebel with a cause, to being someone suave and sophisticated, who is thriving in the new economy.” Khan’s charm is that of an MTV kid who has grown up into a devoted husband and father.
Both men lay heavy emphasis on their commitment to family life.
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