Commercial Logic

She provided comic relief as Shanta Bai in Sony’s mundane soap opera Kuch Is Tara, but in an advertisement for Bharti AXA Life Insurance that went on air recently, Marathi TV actress Usha Nadkarni aroused empathy as a despondent widow handing her husband’s belongings to a reluctant insurance agent. The role-reversal might have surprised the audience, but according to casting director Archana Shah, Nadkarni fitted the bill perfectly. “We were looking for a middle-aged woman who reflected motherly instincts and was not a very popular face on television,” says Shah, who has brought in several lesser-known celebrities to the world of commercials.

Faces of the product, it is important for actors to create a connect with the masses, but it is up to the casting agents to choose the right person. What goes behind making them the face of a brand? “There are several people involved,” says Shah, who has worked as a casting director for TV commercials and films for over nine years. One of her recent successful campaigns is the Peter England commercial, that brings together Telugu star Siddharth and Seema Biswas, whom she chose over actors like Surekha Sekhri and Sarita Doshi. She points out that a popular face does not always work. “It can be distracting, as the audience cannot differentiate between brands. Biswas was a relatively fresh face compared to other seasoned actors in commercials,” she reasons.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Commercial-Logic/711081/

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If China is the top booming life insurance market in the world, then India is very close behind. Billions upon billions are to be made in these two markets, so it’s no wonder the western companies are flocking in to take advantage.