<ul><li>‘Son of the soil’ heroes are finding a place in the hearts of audiences of today, says actor <keyword id="7637" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="manoj-bajpayee" source="Orion">Manoj Bajpayee</keyword>.</li><li>Movies that tell local, rooted stories have a more universal appeal, comments film critic Anupama Chopra.</li><li>The face of storytelling is changing, says actor <keyword id="1634244" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pratik-gandhi" source="Orion">Pratik Gandhi</keyword> who portrayed <keyword id="75198" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="harshad-mehta" source="Orion">Harshad Mehta</keyword> in the web series Scam 1992. </li></ul>The phrase ‘movie star-like good looks’ is undergoing a massive transition, according to actor Manoj Bajpayee. The heroes of today now have to look like the audience, and not like Greek gods or goddesses who descended from the heavens. “People have realized it after the success of RRR and Pushpa. But <keyword id="95495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jr-ntr" source="Orion">Jr NTR</keyword> and <keyword id="17473" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="allu-arjun" source="Orion">Allu Arjun</keyword> have always been popular with their dubbed movies being watched in the hinterlands. I was told by a person outside the industry that heroes like them can be found anywhere in Haryana and Bihar,” Bajpayee said, speaking at a panel discussion organized by Zee5 Global. The actor who completes 20 years in the industry this year, reminisced about times when movies were heavily aspirational, shot abroad etc. Actor <keyword id="6359106" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nawazuddin-siddiqui" source="Orion">Nawazuddin Siddiqui</keyword> had also addressed this issue in the past, refusing to accept that he had ‘unconventional looks’, claiming that 80% of India looks like him. “That’s true. Most of the country looks like Nawaz and me. I was once offered a movie character who lived in New York, I refused saying, I look nothing like them. Those were aspirational times, now it’s time for realism,” Bajpayee said. ‘Son of the soil’ heroes are finding a place in the hearts of audiences of today, as seen with the rip-roaring success of Gadar 2. “Its success is not because of Gadar 1 which came decades back. Many people in their 20s are watching it. It’s just that heroes should come from the masses and the audience. And, stories where common-man is the setting should be told,” Bajpayee said. ‘Mood of audience is changing’ Indian cinema has been transforming with movies like Kantara and more which are more rooted and local — and are gaining success too. “The more local a movie is, the more universal it is. But mainstream cinema tends to paint in broad strokes,” commented Anupama Chopra, a popular film critic. Most Indian movies, experts noted, are either potboilers or indulgent films which attract a niche audience which make distributors and producers develop cold feet, noted Bajpayee. He urged film makers to be less indulgent and choose middle-of-the-road cinema. Whether it’s the impact of OTT or the complexity of GenZ preferences, the mood of the audience has changed, experts noted at the panel discussion. The audience’s mood is scattered, with strong story backed-movies and potboilers with drama and emotion finding equal amounts of success. “If you see RRR, amidst all the larger-than-life stunts, the core of it is human emotion. Stories should empathize with the audience, create excitement with thrill and drama,” explained Bajpayee. Yet another fear that most filmmakers face is that the youth is getting disconnected from the large screens and there is a lot of fatigue in the world of entertainment. The younger audiences love their ‘shorts’ and more, and it takes a lot to bring them back to the big screens. Pratik Gandhi who is best known for portraying Harshad Mehta in the web series Scam 1992 said that movies that are rooted in soil always find their audience. He quoted the success of Gujarati movie ‘<keyword id="3632898" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="wrong-side-raju" source="Orion">Wrong Side Raju</keyword>’ which later went on to win a National Award, but also raked in the moolah at the box office. “The movie brought Gujarati youth back to the theaters, and broke all records. It also got entry into multiplexes. The face of storytelling is changing,” Gandhi added. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/the-dark-truth-behind-rbis-crackdown-on-easy-personal-loans/articleshow/105287366.cms">The dark truth behind RBI’s crackdown on easy personal loans</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/late-stage-deals-are-back-but-funding-winter-is-far-from-over-say-vcs/articleshow/105389287.cms">Late-stage deals are back but funding winter is far from over say VCs</a>

Family Man Manoj Bajpayee bats for movie heroes who look like ‘the common man’

<ul><li><keyword id="46758" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rrr" source="Orion">RRR</keyword> has been one of India's most successful cinema exports with the catchy song Nattu Nattu winning an <keyword id="21112" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="oscar" source="Orion">Oscar</keyword>.</li><li> Shaunak Sen, the director of Oscar-nominated documentary Chhello Show</li><li>The class of 2023 include 40% women and 34% from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities</li></ul> The RRR team, including actors <keyword id="15149" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ram-charan" source="Orion">Ram Charan</keyword>, <keyword id="95495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jr-ntr" source="Orion">Jr NTR</keyword>, composer MM Keeravani, as well as filmmakers Mani Ratnam and <keyword id="3778" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="karan-johar" source="Orion">Karan Johar</keyword> are among the 398 artistes and executives who have received invitations to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is noteworthy that the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are presented annually by this honorary body. RRR lyricist Chandrabose, who along with Keeravani won the Oscar for best original song for the film's blockbuster track "Naatu Naatu" in March, has also received an invitation. Two other invitees include RRR cinematographer KK Senthil Kumar and production designer Sabu Cyril, a press release stated. Indian names feature heavily in Academy's class of 2023 with the inclusion of Shaunak Sen, the director of Oscar-nominated documentary, Siddharth Roy Kapur, the producer of India's official Oscar entry Chhello Show, and Chaitanya Tamhane, known for critically-acclaimed Marathi titles The Disciple and Court in the list. It also includes Girish Balakrishnan and Kranti Sarma from the field of production and technology; visual effects artistes Haresh Hingorani and PC Sanath; film executive Shivani Rawat and Shivani Pandya Malhotra, the managing director of Saudi Arabia's Red Sea International Film Festival. According to the AMPAS, the class of 2023 include 40% women and 34% from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities. 52% of the invitees are from 50 countries and territories outside the US. 76 Oscar nominees, including 22 winners, are among the invitees. In a statement, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said the organisation is proud to welcome the "artists and professionals into our membership". "They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide," they added. The Academy has been actively working to introduce more diversity in its voting to avoid a controversy like 2016 when the Oscars were dubbed "white" for failing to recognise talents of colour. The 2023 batch boasts of major Hollywood names including Academy award-winning actor Ke Huy Quan, Austin Butler, Kerry Condon, Bill Hader, Nicholas Hoult, Stephanie Hsu, Lashana Lynch, Paul Mescal, Park Hae-il, filmmaking duo The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) and musicians Taylor Swift, Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye and David Byrne. In 2022, the organisation had invited 397 new members which included Indian names such as actors Kajol, Suriya, filmmakers Reema Kagti, Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas and Pan Nalin.

RRR team, Karan Johar, Mani Ratnam among many Indians invited to join the Oscars parent body

Woah! SS Rajamouli's '<keyword id="46758" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rrr" source="Orion">RRR</keyword>' shows no sign of slowing down. After bagging a nomination at the 95th Academy Awards, the film has now been nominated in the Critics Choice Super Awards in the Best Action Movie category, along with Top Gun: Maverick and Bullet Train. Also, <keyword id="15149" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ram-charan" source="Orion">Ram Charan</keyword> and <keyword id="95495" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jr-ntr" source="Orion">Jr NTR</keyword> are competing with <keyword id="1538" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tom-cruise" source="Orion">Tom Cruise</keyword> and <keyword id="3557" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="brad-pitt" source="Orion">Brad Pitt</keyword> in the Best Actor category. The nominees were announced on Critics Choice Awards' site on February 23. The winners will be announced on March 16. Last month in January, the team RRR bagged an award under the Best Original Song category at Golden Globes Awards 2023. Meanwhile, Ram Charan recently appeared on the Good Morning America show, where he opened up about RRR's mega success. "It (RRR) is about friendship, great brotherhood, camaraderie, and the relationship between these two characters. And I think it is one of the finest writings of my director Rajamouli, he is known as the Steven Spielberg of India," he said. On the show, Ram Charan also hinted that Rajamouli is up for directing an international project. The actor said, "Everybody calls him that, and I hope he's going to make his way to the global cinema very soon, with the next film." SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/backstreet-boys-are-performing-in-india-after-13-years-here-are-the-tour-details/articleshow/98172144.cms">Backstreet's back, alright! The 90s boy band to perform in India after 13 years</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/vikas-d-nahar-new-judge-on-shark-tank-was-rejected-20-times-before-his-first-fund-raise/slidelist/98176310.cms">Vikas D Nahar: New judge on Shark Tank was rejected 20 times before his first fund raise</a>

It's Ram Charan, Jr NTR vs Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt at Critics Choice Super Awards 2023

History has been scripted! Dreams of so many Indians have finally come true as team '<keyword id="46758" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rrr" source="Orion">RRR</keyword>' brought glory to the country. RRR's power-packed song '<keyword id="12494707" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="naatu-naatu" source="Orion">Naatu Naatu</keyword>' took India global as it won the Oscar for 'Original Song'. 'Naatu Naatu' has won the award tumping big names like Rihanna and Lady Gaga. Composer MM Keeravani and lyricist Chandrabose accepted the award on behalf of the team. Singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava and composer along with director <keyword id="952505" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ss-rajamouli" source="Orion">SS Rajamouli</keyword> and lead actors Jr NTR and Ram Charan are all present at the big event. 'Naatu Naatu' is the first Telugu song to be nominated in the 'Original Song' category at the <keyword id="6376611" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="oscars" source="Orion">Oscars</keyword>. Earlier, the singers gave a live performance. It was a goosebump moment for all when Naatu Naatu took over the Oscars stage with American dancers doing full justice to the track. American actor-dancer Lauren Gottlieb also grooved on the track. Actress Deepika Padukone introduced the song to the audience and called it a 'banger'. The audience loved Rahul and Kaala's performance as they all stood up from their seats and applauded them. Talking about 'Naatu Naatu', the song, as mentioned, the lyrical composition by MM Keeravani, high energy rendition by singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, unique choreography by Prem Rakshith, and lyrics by Chandrabose are all the elements that make this 'RRR' mass anthem a perfect dance craze. The song competed against 'Applause' from the film 'Tell It Like A Woman,' 'Hold My Hand' from the movie 'Top Gun: Maverick,' 'Lift me Up' from 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,' and 'This Is Life,' from 'Everything, Everywhere All At Once'. The film is a fictional story based on the lives of two Telugu freedom fighters, Alluri Seetharama Raju and Komaram Bheem. Ram Charan and Jr NTR played lead roles, respectively. The film collected over Rs 1,200 crore worldwide. Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran also starred in the film. Earlier the Indian documentary film 'Elephant Whisperers' won the Oscar in the 'Best Documentary Short Film' category. Producer Guneet Monga along with director Kartiki Gonsalves took centre stage to accept the honour.

India's moment at the Oscars: RRR's 'Naatu Naatu' wins Best Original Song award

<ul><li>Charan joins a long list of celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, <keyword id="6354486" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli" source="Orion">Virat Kohli</keyword>, Deepika Padukone, and <keyword id="5268" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rahul-gandhi" source="Orion">Rahul Gandhi</keyword> who lost their ‘Blue ticks’. </li><li>Jr NTR or Tarak, SS Rajamouli – with over six million followers each, still have their blue ticks. </li><li>The Pope, Oprah Winfrey, and singer Beyonce lost their verifications, but Musk personally paid for three celebrities. </li></ul>Tesla cars might have danced to the beats of the Oscar-winning song Naatu Naatu, but the actor who thumped the ground to the beats on screen – Ram Charan of RRR has lost his validation from yet another <keyword id="6355315" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon-musk" source="Orion">Elon Musk</keyword> venture, Twitter. Charan, who has over three million followers on Twitter, joins a long list of celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Virat Kohli, Deepika Padukone and Rahul Gandhi to lose the coveted ‘Blue tick’ on their Twitter accounts. Many celebrities have refused to pay a fee that Musk had imposed to verify the accounts of celebrities. Blue ticks can differentiate the actual accounts of celebrities from the many fan-made and fake accounts made in their name. Rajamouli, Rana retain their blue ticks The other Naatu Naatu star, Jr NTR, or Tarak, the director of RRR, SS Rajamouli – with over six million followers each – still have their blue ticks indicating that they might have paid Musk’s fee. The star of Bahubali, Rana Daggubati, has a blue tick, and Prabhas is not on Twitter. The others who did not bother are — KGF fame Yash and Pusha actor Allu Arjun have also lost their blue ticks along with South heavyweight Rajnikanth. Even superstar Chiranjeevi, Charan's father and Arjun's uncle, who joined Twitter during the pandemic, lost his blue tick status. So did his Tamil counterpart Kamal Hassan who came back with a bang to silver screens with the recent superhit Vikram late last year. South heroines like Samantha Ruth Prabhu, with over 10 million followers, and Nayantara, with over 20,000 followers too lost their blue ticks. Many top cricketers like M S Dhoni and Rohit Sharma also did not bother to pay the price to retain their ticks, and neither did Twitteractive pulp fiction writer, Chetan Bhagat. There are only three exceptions Many international celebrities lost their blue ticks, including the Pope, celebrity TV host Oprah Winfrey, and singer Beyonce. Rihanna and Taylor Swift still have blue ticks, but their payment status is not verified. actress Halle Berry, however, tweeted, "Me joining you all tomorrow unverified," indicating she will not pay for the Blue badge. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, also lost his blue tick. But looks like even Musk defers to the celebrity might of a few titans, including the King of Horror, Stephen King. Incidentally, King has been criticizing the verification payment and insisted that “It’s a matter of principle.” The other two celebrities that Musk is personally paying for are Captain Kirk of Star Trek, William Statner and basketball legend, LeBron James. (With inputs from IANS, Neha Das and Ananya Tawakley) SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ashneer-grover-wades-into-controversy-around-10-minute-delivery/articleshow/99578962.cms">The Big Fight: Ashneer Grover wades into controversy around 10-minute delivery</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/not-the-time-for-job-hopping-most-indians-plan-to-stay-put-this-year-indeed/articleshow/99556646.cms">Not the time for job hopping, most Indians plan to stay put this year: Indeed</a>

RRR star Ram Charan & other Indian celebs who lost the Twitter blue tick

The 'Variety' editor responsible for making the Hollywood bible's predictions for the Oscars and Emmys has a lot of good news for the makers of '<keyword id="46758" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="rrr" source="Orion">RRR</keyword>'. If Clayton <keyword id="18718" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="davis" source="Orion">Davis</keyword> had the casting vote at the Academy, 'RRR' would be a close runner-up to 'Close', Lukas Ghont's 2022 Cannes Grand Prix-winning coming-of-age movie, in the Best Picture and the International Feature categories (though for the latter, it is not India's official entry). And if Davis were the God of All Things at the Academy, music composer M.M. Keeravaani, along with playback singers Suddala Ashok Teja and Kala Bhairava, would come home with the <keyword id="21112" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="oscar" source="Orion">Oscar</keyword> for 'Komuram Bheemudo ', staving off a challenge from 'Naatu Naatu'. The period drama's director, S.S. Rajamouli, is in the running for Best Director, but he gets an honourable mention, in a field topped by Todd Field, the helmer of the highly anticipated film, 'Tar'. Also to land an honourable mention is 'RRR' star Jr. NTR for Best Actor in a Leading Role, where the favourite is the 'Elvis' star, Austin Butler, followed by Brendan Fraser ('The Whale'). Jr NTR is in the honourable company of <keyword id="4793" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="will-smith" source="Orion">Will Smith</keyword> ('Emancipation'), Hugh Jackman ('Son') and Bill Nighy ('Living'), who also have received honourable mentions. <keyword id="1423432" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vijayendra-prasad" source="Orion">Vijayendra Prasad</keyword>, 'RRR' screenplay writer, is on another list of honourable mentions, for Original Screenplay; so is Sabu Cyril, for Production Design and A. Sreekar Prasad for Film Editing. K.K. Senthil Kumar is among the five on Davis's shortlist for Best Cinematography in the formidable company of his compatriots behind the cameras of 'Batman', 'Top Gun: Maverick', 'Emancipation' and 'Nope'. Likewise, 'RRR' music composer M.M. Keeravaani is in the shortlist for Original Score. 'RRR' figures again in Davis's shortlist for Visual Effects and earns an honourable mention for Sound. The Tollywood blockbuster that has gripped the imagination of the world clearly seems to be the hot favourite of the magazine that has been reporting on Hollywood and world cinema for more than a century. One win, three runners-up trophies, three on shortlists and four honourable mentions -- mighty impressive! SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/hyderabadi-satya-nadella-insulted-by-his-own-software-as-it-calls-biryani-a-tiffin/articleshow/96756350.cms">Hyderabadi Satya Nadella 'insulted' by his own software as it calls Biryani a tiffin</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/twitterati-misses-ashneer-grover-snapping-in-shark-tank-india-s2/slidelist/96754759.cms">Doglapan, bilkul bakwas: Twitterati misses Ashneer Grover snapping in Shark Tank India S2</a>

As Oscar vote draws closer, 'RRR' nets 11 mentions on 'Variety' shortlists

SS <keyword id="145117" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rajamouli" source="Orion">Rajamouli</keyword>'s "<keyword id="46758" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="rrr" source="Orion">RRR</keyword>" struck gold at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards by winning the trophy for the best original song–motion picture for its hit track "Naatu Naatu". The blockbuster Telugu movie is also nominated for the 'best picture-non English' at the ceremony. The Telugu track "Naatu Naatu" is composed by veteran music director MM Keeravaani and sung by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj. Keeravani thanked Rajamouli for his "vision". "It has been an ages old practice to say that this award actually belongs to someone else. So I was planning to not say those words when I get an award like this, but I'm sorry to say that I'm going to repeat the tradition because I mean my words. "This award belongs to, in order of priority, my brother and the director of the movie, SS Rajamouli for his vision. I thank him for this constant trust in my work and support," Keeravani said after accepting the award. The veteran music composer also thanked the team behind the track -- choreographer Prem Rakshith, lyricist Chandrabose and singers Sipligunj and Bhairava. "And NT Rama Rao Jr and <keyword id="15149" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ram-charan" source="Orion">Ram Charan</keyword> for dancing with full stamina for the song," he said. Other nominees in the segment were Taylor Swift's "Carolina" ("Where The Crawdads Sing"), "Ciao Papa" ("Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio"), "Hold My Hand" from "Top Gun: Maverick", a collaboration between Lady Gaga, BloodPop and Benjamin Rice, and "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: <keyword id="9844828" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="wakanda-forever" source="Orion">Wakanda Forever</keyword>" by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, and Ludwig Goransson. "RRR" follows a pre-Independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries - Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem - in the 1920s. The film stars Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles. Released theatrically last March, "RRR" reportedly made over Rs 1,200 crore at the global box office. The lavishly mounted period epic is the first Indian film in over two decades to be nominated for the awards. In the 'best picture–non English segment', "RRR" will face off with Korean romantic mystery film "Decision To Leave", German anti-war drama "All Quiet on the Western Front", Argentine historical drama "Argentina, 1985", and French-Dutch coming-of-age drama "Close".

'RRR' bags first Golden Globe with 'Naatu Naatu' winning best original song

<ul><li><keyword id="133159" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Agro">Parle Agro</keyword> launched a new product this week called <keyword id="10127022" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="B-Fizz">B-Fizz</keyword> and earmarked Rs 40 crore for its marketing campaign solely for this calendar year. </li><li>On the back of a strong marketing and pricing strategy, Parle Argo is aiming to make B-Fizz a ₹1000-crore-brand in the next couple of years.</li><li><keyword id="235731" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nadia-Chauhan">Nadia Chauhan</keyword>, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro spoke to us about the whole process of launching a product from researching to shelving, idea behind on-boarding two different brand endorsers for different markets, target audience, larger vision for the company and much more. </li></ul>When it comes to coming up with innovative, industry-first beverages, Parle Agro has been the frontrunner. With its latest launch, B-Fizz, a malt-flavoured carbonated apple drink, the company envisions becoming the number one beverage player in India eventually. Parle Agro currently dominates the fruit plus <keyword id="10153209" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fizz-drink-category">fizz drink category</keyword> by over 90% market share with its flagship brand <keyword id="6374490" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Appy-Fizz">Appy Fizz</keyword> and now, with its foray into malt-flavoured drinks, it is confident that it will be able to accelerate the category’s growth significantly and bring it to up to Rs 10,000 crore from Rs 1,500 crore in 10 years. In the past, the brand has tried to expand its presence with Mango <keyword id="10153208" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="flavoured-frooti-fizz">Flavoured Frooti Fizz</keyword> and Grappo Fizz, which did not last for too long. So, this time, the brand is playing safe and smart by piggybacking on the popularity of Appy Fizz for the newly-launched B-Fizz, which is a marriage between apple and malt. Another reason why the brand believes in this category is because it has seen a consistently increasing trend of consumers moving away from synthetic beverages towards fruit-based beverages. Parle Agro is therefore going all out to promote its new product launch. It has invested Rs 40 crore in a high-decibel 360 degree campaign, on-boarded Priyanka Chopra Jonas for the Indian market and Jr. NTR for the Southern India. B-Fizz will also be the sponsor for a few select marquee television properties and air its TVC during IPL to get the ball rolling. In just two weeks since its launch, the drink is already present in 500,000+ outlets. With a uniquely positioned product and strong marketing strategy, Parle Agro is confident of making B-Fizz a ₹1000-crore-brand in the next couple of years. We caught up with Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro, to understand the research process, pricing strategy and goals for this calendar year. Excerpts: Q. What were some of the factors that pushed you/influenced you to launch B-Fizz? As part of our growth strategy, we invest in R&amp;D to introduce innovative new products to the market; products that will appeal to consumers and take our business further. B-Fizz is one such product that our team developed a few years back. After conducting successful trials we were waiting for the right moment to launch it. As we went through various phases of unlock, we noticed a phenomenal performance in our sparkling fruit-based drink category with our brand, Appy Fizz. We thought it was a great opportunity to expand that category further with the launch of B-Fizz which is a sparkling malt flavoured drink with apple juice. We were able to commercialize B-Fizz in less than 30 days from the time we made the decision to launch it. The timing of the launch worked perfectly for us in several ways. As the country underwent the last few phases of unlock, retailers who were earlier operating under numerous constraints during the lockdown, have now opened up and are operating at almost 100%. Consumers are also getting back to some sense of normalcy. Additionally, the second half of the year is not just the festive period where there is typically an upswing in demand, but it also sees a second summer in the month of October across the country. Since the season also plays a large role in the <keyword id="1453601" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="beverage-industry">beverage industry</keyword> it was a great time for us to launch B-Fizz. Q. What is the marketing strategy for your new product launch? What is the marketing investment going to be? We are investing Rs 40 cores in a high-decibel 360 degree campaign across various media for B-Fizz. We have launched two new TVCs, one featuring global icon, Priyanka Chopra for national media and the other featuring Jr. NTR exclusively for southern markets. The TVC campaign will be supported by innovative print, mobile and digital activations. B-Fizz will also be the sponsor for select marquee television properties. The campaign will also be aggressively promoted across IPL on Hotstar and YouTube. We have also been looking to deploy OOH for higher impact across 96 cities as of now. Q. What would your distribution and pricing strategy be? Will it be available on e-commerce and delivery platforms? B-Fizz is a product that we have launched with a mass distribution strategy in place. We’re today at 500,000 outlets with more than 3000 towns covered. We have launched B-Fizz at a competitive price point of Rs. 10 which is a critical part of our strategy. We believe this price point will enable us to scale up distribution for the brand across both rural and urban markets and make it more accessible to consumers. And yes, we will be available across various platforms, not just traditional retail but also modern trade and e-commerce. We expect B-Fizz to become a ₹1000-crore brand in the next couple of years. Q. The product is priced at Rs. 10 for 160 ml SKU, so how environmental-friendly is the product's packaging? Or will that be a focus later on in brand's journey? It’s an incorrect assumption to say a product available at a lower price point is indicative of a compromise in the quality of packaging. Parle Agro has a reputation built on quality, trust and has always ensured products which are best in class to deliver a superior consumer experience. Our ability to price a product at 10 rupees, an extremely competitive price point, is based on our strategy of creating economies through scale. The 160 ml packaging is a pack that is manufactured on a mass scale for Appy Fizz, the same is being applied for B-Fizz through various technological innovations in designing the preforms. These innovations are created and manufactured in-house as well, which is also how we’re able to achieve this kind of competitive price point. Q. Since the packaging and TVC is quite bold and colourful and positioned as a drink 'for the bold', are you looking at targeting millennials? Who will be the core target for B-Fizz? We are primarily targeting the youth between the age groups of 15-30 years for B-Fizz. Nevertheless, the unique taste of B-Fizz will appeal to all age groups. Q. Since consumers are becoming very conscious of their health and avoiding cola-based drinks and people are still at home and snacking more, have you seen an increase in demand of your products in the last few months? Our entire product portfolio focuses on fruit based beverages and has gained huge traction over the years. We have seen a consistently increasing trend of consumers moving away from synthetic beverages and more towards fruit-based beverages. This is perhaps, one of the big growth drivers for our category as well and a reason for why we have grown as much as we have. Q. What kind of trends did you witness during the lockdown? Did you cut down on your ad spends for this year? What will your larger marketing strategy be for the rest of the year? When it comes to business trends during the lockdown, companies had to adapt, on a daily basis, to the constantly changing rules and regulations being implemented across different parts of the country. Pro-active planning became a critical approach to maintain continuity of supply and distribution to tackle the challenges in mobility that emerged during the pandemic. We also witnessed the growth of the ecommerce platform. Though the e-commerce channel is still very small for the FMCG industry, there has been an acceleration in the adoption of this channel by consumers and brands alike. We have also on-boarded numerous ecommerce players and are continuing to do so. With regard to consumer trends, the lockdown has led consumers to become more conscious about their food and beverage choices. We foresee consumers spending a lot more on products that are natural versus those that are synthetic. For instance, fruit-based drinks like our products with natural ingredients, will be the preferred choice of drink over synthetic ones. Through the lockdown, we halted most of our marketing spends since majority of the retail stores were shut and with restrictions in mobility, people weren’t allowed to go out unless absolutely necessary. But now, as we move towards the last few phases of unlock, our budget allocations are back on track. We are investing Rs 40 crores for the marketing of B-Fizz which is until the end of the calendar year for 2020. Next year, we will be back on track with our regular marketing budgets of about Rs 250 to 300 crores across all our existing brands. Q. Why did you decide to get a separate brand face for the southern market? Is that one of your strongest markets? In southern markets, the influence and affinity for regional cinema and celebrities is very strong. Thus, to drive greater brand resonance with the audiences in the south as well as generate higher brand recall for B-Fizz, we chose a separate ambassador for the southern markets. Jr. NTR is a great brand fit and just like for Frooti we have Allu Arjun, we have Jr. NTR for B-Fizz in the south. Q. Parle Agro currently has a brand turnover of Rs. 6500 Cr. With a new addition, what are revenue goals for FY 2021-22? Parle Agro currently dominates the fruit plus fizz drink category with Appy Fizz with over 90% market share. With the launch of B Fizz, the target is to build the Fruit plus Fizz category to Rs 10,000 Cr. by 2030. We believe we will end the calendar year with 5-10 per cent growth over the previous year with B-Fizz being one of the contributors to that growth. Q. What is your overall vision for Parle Agro? Our vision is to make Parle Agro the No. 1 Beverage Company in India.

Parle Agro is confident of making B-Fizz a ₹1000-crore-brand in a few years

<ul><li>2021 is going to be one of the biggest growth years for <keyword id="133159" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Agro">Parle Agro</keyword> as it is set to release two high impact campaigns for its power brands Frooti, Appy Fizz and B-Fizz simultaneously.</li><li>With combined spends of Rs 240 crore for Frooti and Fizz portfolio, Parle Agro is aiming to dominate the beverage category this summer.</li><li>Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro tells us how the brand aims to beat the cola category with its strong marketing strategy and how it would go about spending the earmarked marketing budget of Rs 240 crore.</li></ul>Last week, Mumbai recorded its hottest day of this season and the India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert with a warning of heat wave. Mercury in Odisha has crossed 44.6 degrees, the highest so far. IMD predicts this year to be the hottest summer in India and it’s only April! To beat this heat, consumers turn to refreshing cold beverages and ice-creams and naturally, summer is the peak season for those categories. For Parle Agro that houses drinks like Frooti, Appy Fizz and B-Fizz, 40% of its overall annual sales come from the summers. Last year, the beverage industry’s business plateaued due to the lockdown. Parle Agro decided to curtail its 360-degree media spends until October and started working on its comeback marketing strategy. So, 2021 is going to be an important year for the conglomerate to revive its business. Sharing her expectations for summer 2021, Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro said, “The summer months alone from March to May account for approximately 40% of our overall annual sales. We have witnessed a higher consumption in mango drinks over the Fizz category in summers because Mango is a seasonal fruit hence, a higher intake over the Fizz category which is evenly balanced out year-round.” While the beverage category was struggling in the first quarter of 2020, once the market opened up, Parle Agro launched an innovative product ‘B-Fizz’ and expanded its market share strategically. It is now aiming to grow by 50% over 2019. “Looking at the past year, the lockdown had an immense impact on the beverage and FMCG segment as a whole. Due to mobility restrictions, we focused on reinventing our sales and distribution strategy to cater to the market effectively despite the lockdown. This helped us gain an 8% market share within the category. We avoided a 360-degree brand campaign during the summer months of 2020 as it would not serve the desired purpose due to mobility restrictions. Subsequently, we invested in a strategic marketing strategy in September 2020 when we launched B-Fizz. This year, for 2021, with increased mobility and rise in temperatures during summer months, we are expecting a boom in consumption and are targeting a 50% growth in 2021 over 2019 across all brands,” said Chauhan. However, the lockdown did have a silver lining for Parle Agro after all. The consumer pattern changed and they started preferring fruit-based beverages. Chauhan said, “We have witnessed a consistent increase in consumers moving away from synthetic beverages and more towards fruit-based beverages. Along with that, we also see a demand in products under the good-for-you category. The lockdown has also given consumers an opportunity to spend more time with family and friends. This has resulted in a boost for larger packs for in-home consumption.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Marketing campaigns for 2021" text="Marketing campaigns for 2021">Marketing campaigns for 2021</cmsannotation> Parle Agro has launched its summer campaign starring brand ambassadors Priyanka Chopra Jonas and <a href="https://youtu.be/Tmy9ViY2qR8">Jr. NTR</a> for B-Fizz. With marketing investments of Rs 120 crores for the Fizz portfolio this summer, Parle Agro plans on generating tremendous buzz with a multimedia campaign. The TVC will be aired across national and regional channels. <div type="Youtube" id="8X1DT09Je7A" title="All new 2021 Be.Feel.Fizz advertisement with Priyanka Chopra Jonas.#befeelfizz#bethefizz#feelthefizz" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8X1DT09Je7A/mqdefault.jpg"></div> On the other hand, its new summer campaign for Frooti starring Alia Bhatt, <a href="https://youtu.be/mfq51l5Auwk">Allu Arjun</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/oz0_585h1DE">Varun Dhawan</a> aims to accelerate growth and strengthen brand equity. Parle Agro has earmarked Rs 120 as marketing budget for Frooti and Rs 120 for Fizz category. <div type="Youtube" id="kopcKizsMIY" title="Watch Alia Bhatt get her favourite drink in the new 2021 Frooti advertisement. #livethefrootilife" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kopcKizsMIY/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The beverage company has increased its marketing budget every year since 2019. Chauhan shared, “Our overall marketing spends for 2019 amounted to Rs 220 crore while our summer spends for 2021 is Rs 240 crores.” Telling us more about the media spends, Chauhan added, “We have an aggressive multimedia campaign charted out for 2021 with the objective of boosting consumption patterns, gaining substantial market share and driving significant growth for Parle Agro in the beverage industry. Our plan includes using strategic mediums and touch points to ensure impactful reach and visibility for our brands via the right audience. This includes Television, Digital and OOH mediums.” To further break through the clutter, the Indian beverage giant will look at enhancing visibility via on-ground branding opportunities at retail outlets, kirana stores and continue investing in e-commerce. A significant amount of its marketing budget will also be spent on the biggest event of the summer season - IPL. Frooti is the official on-air sponsor for IPL in the mango drink category and B-Fizz is the beverage partner for IPL on Disney+ Hotstar. Telling us how important IPL has grown to be for the brand, Chauhan shared, “IPL has been a game-changer for Frooti and our FIZZ range. We started advertising with IPL for Frooti in the summer of 2014 since most of the investment for the brand happens in this season. IPL being the biggest event of the summer months has helped propel visibility for Frooti during this period, ever since we started advertising with the property. The year 2021 is a big year for Parle Agro. To further drive high SOV for our brands during the high consumption summer season, we have associated with IPL. Frooti shall be the on-air sponsor on TV on Star Sports Network. While in the digital space, B-Fizz will be the associate sponsor for IPL on Disney HotStar. If we go by numbers, just these two platforms will drive a reach of over 500 million people.” With combined spends of Rs 240 crores for Frooti and FIZZ portfolio campaigns, Parle Agro is set to dominate the beverage category this summer. It has the lion’s share of fruit plus fizz category and Frooti, too, ranks among the top two mango drinks in India. Elaborating on the beverage company’s expansion plan and current market share, Chauhan said, “For Frooti we have 28% market share in the mango drink category. In the apple-based drink category, Appy holds the largest share with 61% and in the sparkling fruit drink category, our FIZZ portfolio i.e. Appy Fizz and B-Fizz combined, holds the highest market share of over 90%. We are looking to further grow market share and target new consumers by increasing our reach and market penetration. We are already witnessing a massive boom in consumption this season after a slow 2020. Frooti is part of every household, for every social occasion, these indications instil confidence that the product will become a dominant player soon. And with our aggressive plans for Frooti and FIZZ portfolio this year, we aim to further boost consumption and drive significant growth for Parle Agro in the beverage industry.” Apart from spearheading an aggressive marketing campaign this year, Chauhan will also prepare every level of leadership across all teams in her organization who have all been impacted in different ways by the pandemic, to be really prepared and maintain a very positive mindset.

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