As India celebrated the Oscar win on Monday, it is believed that this win is supposed to up the brand value of both the actors’ Jr NTR and Ram Charan to an international level. RRR’s ‘Naatu Naatu’ soundtrack by MM Keeravani was awarded the Best Original Song Award at the 95th Academy Awards. “An Oscar will give the movie and both actors global recognition for sure and is bound to increase their brand value. While the award was for Best Original Song, their dancing was completely original too, and without one, the other is incomplete. That said, the movie will also get a fresh lease of life across the globe,” N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, a consumer insights company said.
According to industry estimates, Jr NTR and Ram Charan both charge around the same price which is anywhere from between Rs 30-50 crore per movie. In fact, Charan had charged about Rs 45 crore for RRR. Charan over the years has endorsed a bevvy of brands including Pepsi, Tata Docomo, Volano, Apollo Jiya, Hero MotoCrop, Frooti, among others. As per industry estimates, he charged anywhere between Rs 2-3 crore for such associations.
Interestingly, the scene is similar with Jr.NTR who have charged about Rs 45 crore for RRR. Prior to this, he would charge about Rs 12 crore per film. It is believed that post the win of RRR at the Oscar, both actors are expected to increase their charge per film by 100% that Rs 60-100 crore. The same is applied to brand endorsement deals which will now cost brands about Rs 6-8 crore. “An Oscar is the ultimate brand endorsement. This win will be a windfall for the director, the stars and indeed the entire creative ecosystem of RRR. The key point to remember is that the two dancing stars are the front faces of this backend win. They will gain immensely in brand endorsement wins,” Harish Bijoor, brand consultant and founder, Harish Bijoor Consult.
Even though both actors have earned their share of popularity in the Hindi movie industry, with this win it is expected that they will also pursue a career in Hollywood
Nonetheless, one cannot deny the fact that Indian cinema has become mainstream today, and finally there is indeed a long way to go. “Cinema has become more globalised now. With this win, a crossover has become mainstream. This recognition has put southern cinema on the world stage and also established that Indian cinema is more than just Hindi movies. With lines blurring with the greater adoption of technology, people are beginning to acknowledge other languages too,” Lloyd Mathias, business strategist and angel investor, said.