Star Couples: Added hype

We all know that stars are brands in themselves and a double deal like Ajay and Kajol is too big to ignore.

They are not the first couple, who have tried to use their "togetherness" as a selling point. John-Bipasha, Vivek-Aishwarya, Aishwarya-Abhishek - every couple has found some way or the other to make the interest in their being together work for them.

But does that work on the 70 mm? Well, not always. But with flashbulbs and ready publicity never too far, who needs the 70 mm anyway?

U, Me Aur Hum is a production that is literally all in the family. Kajol's the heroine, Ajay's the hero, the producer and one of the writers of the film.

The two have worked on films like Dil Kya Kare and also Raju Chacha. These films didn't set the box office on fire, but then most of the recent star romances have not worked on screen.

Except perhaps for a one-off like Jism, the film that made John and Bipasha a hit pair. Then Goal came along and they paid the penalty!

Or Guru that gave Abhi-Ash their only hit together. All the other films they have worked on, before they became a couple and after it have bombed.

Post marriage, for Abhishek and Ash their collective branding has become stronger. They were rumoured to have been offered a joint campaign by an electronics giant.

But now, the same Rs 10 crore deal has reportedly gone to another couple that has the media buzz on its side.

This is the crux of the business of couples in present-day Bollywood.

Whether their film is going to work or not, there is so much of calculated hype built around them, timed with their film's release, that they find immediate business in the world television and ads.

"Ads don't flop. Two films flop and you won't get a third, you won't get the same price. Ads continue because this is an era of what I think is cross exposure. A film is one thing, but I don't think films give you the kind of sustainability that advertising can give you and you need that. You need to be in the public eye or else people forget that you exist," said Bharat Dabholkar, Ad Filmmaker.

The fact that companies are willing to pay star couples nearly as much as they make in a movie for a fraction of the time spent in shooting it, why would anyone reject.

Ram Mirchandani Executive VP (Creative & Projects), UTV thinks, "For a commercial if you take an off-screen couple, it probably helps because of the image they bring together for 30 seconds as compared to a film, where the script is the foundation."

Often, the entire build up to their film becomes a string of cross-media apprearances. Like Ajay and Kajol are starring in the on going Electrolux campaign, one that feeds into their on screen image.

The otherwise reclusive couple has even taken to judge family reality show with an instant Bollywood connect.

Whereas, Saif and Kareena in the run up of Tashan have ensured that they are constantly in the news.

R. Balkrishnan, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas said, "They have positioned it absolutely perfectly. The right amount of visibility and the right kind of visibility, to give people a feeling of what is going to come in the film. We have a couple who have done this. It's perfectly done and it's a damn good strategy."