Dreamworks' 2000 motion pic castaway will, for some time to come, remain the benchmark for weaving a brand (in this case FedEx) into the plot. In India, the phenomenon of brands-in-films, or companies-in-films has been restricted, largely, to adventitious appearances during athletic song-and-dance sequences. There's enough indication that this is changing. One June release, Dreamz Unlimited's Chalte Chalte (starring Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee, left) strives for some relevance: the protagonist runs a trucking company, so Castrol's in-film placement is not just germane, but fairly original. And September-release Baagban will have ICICI Bank's brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan-he plays the lead-featuring as an employee of the bank. Relevance, as you might have caught on, is the name of the game. For instance BPCL's Speed high-performance petrol, is promoting Terminator 3 in the wake of its successful promo around Die Another Day.

The importance being assigned to in-film-promotions can be gauged from the fact that three agencies now have full-fledged entertainment divisions. WPP has BroadMind, Lowe Lintas, Lintertainment, and Leo Burnett, Leo Entertainment.

Companies that don't manage to be written into the plot can take some hope from whisky brand Bagpiper's success in associating itself with a motion pic by airing co-branded promos. In the recent past, the company has done this with Dum, Andaaz, and Hero, airing some 1,400 spots across channels. "The brand leverages the hype of the film and the producer is able to create a buzz with hardly any investment," says Navin Shah, Head, BroadMind. Then, there's the thing about the brand benefiting from an implied endorsement by the film's stars.

For an industry as plagued with declining revenues as Bollywood, in-film promos hold out a lifeline. The Castrol deal, for instance, is reported to have fetched Dreamz a healthy Rs 35 lakh. That kind of money deserves a plot-mention, maybe more.

-Dipayan Baishya

Parent-city
Chennai has a first of its kind old age home.

At Clasic Kudumbam: Everyone's smiling

Chennai, the late R.K. Narayan once said, ran the risk of becoming a city of parents. The writer's reference was to the city's huge software diaspora which had left in its wake parents resigned to spending a couple of months every year with their children in the US, and reconciled to exchanging notes and leading a comfortable but lonely existence back home for the other 10. There is such a community and it was only a matter of time before someone started eyeing it as a potential market.

Baba Shankar is that someone. The 56-year- old property dealer is the promoter of Clasic Farms and has developed farm houses and residential property on some 150 acres of land in the Chennai it corridor Sholinganallur. Now, he has built an old age home, Clasic Kudumbam (Tamil for family) targeted at monied oldies with children in the US, on 15 acres of this land.

Complete with swimming pool, a massage parlour that dispenses ayurvedic rubs, a clinic, canteen, guest rooms, and other such frills, the home has 49 'quarters', and cost Rs 3 crore to build. The economics: each resident pays Rs 10 lakh out of which Rs 2 lakh is non-refundable just to gain admission into the home; residents also pay Rs 4,000 a month for food, a weekly massage, an hour of internet connectivity a day, and a daily-visit from a geriatrician. "There is no other retirement home in the country built to international standards," says Rajesh Shankar, Director, Sales (he is Baba's son), citing a certificate the home has received from the Illinois-based Senior Hospitality Institute.

The home has received some 30 applications thus far, and admitted seven; Baba himself has also moved in. One senior citizen visited the place seven times before deciding to sign on. If Clasic Kudumdam works, expect more such to sprout in Chennai and Bangalore.

-Nitya Varadarajan

"Institutional Investors Are Back"

Alliance's Baker: India is in, again

Earlier this year alliance capital wanted to exit India by selling its fund. Now, the country is important enough to warrant a visit by its CEO, Edward D. Baker. Such are the ways of global finance. Baker, who also doubles up as the Head of Alliance's Emerging Marketing Equities fund, met with BT's Narendra Nathan. Excerpts:

What is your view on emerging markets?

On the investment perspective, emerging markets look quite attractive. First, compared to developed markets, they will grow faster. And the valuations are also low now.

Does that mean more money will flow to emerging markets now?

It may not pick up immediately as the retail investors (in developed markets) are very cautious now. This is because most of them invested during the peak of 1995-97 and lost heavily when the emerging market boom ended. Institutional investors (like pension funds) are already back.

Where will you place India among the emerging markets?

We like India. There are several quality companies (here).

What about the quality of market regulation?

On the regulation front, India compares favourably with most of the emerging markets and but not with the developed markets. For example, Securities and Exchange Board of India has good regulations, but is not very strong in enforcing.

How does India compare with China?

The basic problem in China is the lack of the capitalist culture. We are finding it difficult to identify quality companies for investment.

First the news, there are five cellular circles in India that boast over a million subscribers. Delhi, with close to 2 million heads the pack. Now for the irony: the government in its infinite wisdom labelled circles A, B, and C based on their market potential (A is the highest, C, the least). Now, it emerges that some circles have actually performed better than their higher ranked peers. Punjab, a B circle, has more than a million subscribers while Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, all As, do not have anywhere close to that number. Bihar, a C, has more subscribers than Rajasthan and Haryana, both Bs. And Chennai, clubbed with Delhi and Mumbai for all telecom policy related issues, has all of half a million subscribers. Oops!

-Vandana Gombar