Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt sign their first endorsement deals!

Bollywood bigwigs working as brand ambassadors aren’t a new phenomenon. Several times before, some of Bollywood’s biggest stars have been the face of a brand and have given fans a chance to better-connect with products and services. Well, times have changed now and newcomers seem to have taken up the cause of brand endorsements. Recently, several fresh faces in B-town have begun starring in advertisements, drawing in their fans to take notice of these brands.

Some of the brand endorsement-realm’s newest flag-bearers are Karan Johar’s newbie trio, Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, all of who made a debut in the film Student of the Year. This campus romance hit the big-screen on the 19th of October, 2012, and was proclaimed a blockbuster. The three young actors have already begun working on  their next films and have signed their first endorsement deals too!

Speaking about newcomers taking up endorsement deals, veteran ad man Alyque Padamsee says “Modeling agencies at times suggest advertising companies if they have interesting clients. For example, look at Anushka Sharma. She was a model before she became a star, and she was doing several advertisements before she became an actor. So as soon as she became an actor and her films were a hit, all the brands who had signed a contract with her were happy since they could now capitalise on her newfound fame. So, companies like to capitalise on such talented people.”

Stay tuned to your television screen to catch Varun, Alia and Siddharth in their first advertisements!

Karan Johar rumored to have roped in an office-boy’s daughter for Bombay Talkies

Karan Johar’s part in the upcoming film, Bombay Talkies, has been grabbing a lot of attention lately. The Dharma Productions chief will be directing a 20 minute part for the film and his segment will share screen-space with short-films by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and Zoya Akhtar. What keeps this film apart from any Karan has directed before is the fact that the movie just 20 minutes long, unlike his previous directorial ventures that have run well over 200 minutes. Also, Karan was given a limited budget for the film and unlike his extravagant past, the filmmaker has stuck towards the more realistic side of life.

Karan Johar’s short film will star Randeep Hooda, Rani Mukerji and newcomer Saqib Saleem with one very special star, the daughter of an office boy working at YRF who Karan handpicked for a role in the film. “She wanted to see herself on the big screen. She had told everybody in her home town that her dad works for Yash Raj and her friends often asked her if she would ever be seen in a film. The peon managed to put in a word with Aditya Chopra,who in turn put in a word with Karan Johar to help her out,” said a source.

Ashi Dua, the producer of Bombay Talkies, confirmed the news saying, “Yes it is true that Karan Johar has cast the daughter of an office boy working at YRF for a very pivotal role. She has done a very good job in the film.”

The film Bombay Talkies is a tribute to the 100 years of Hindi cinema and will commemorate the day Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema, released the first Indian motion picture.

A career in films wasn’t easy for Karan Johar’s mentee, Siddharth Malhotra

Karan Johar, the Dharma Productions chief, broke trends with his fifth directorial venture, Student of the Year, by roping in newcomers instead of Bollywood bigwigs. In the film, Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt star in the lead.

Siddharth Malhotra

While Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan both come from families based strongly in tinsel-town, model-turned-actor Siddharth Malhotra has no industry background and has worked hard for his upcoming debut. Quoting Siddharth, "I have nothing to fall back on, for them (Alia and Varun) they can take guidance from their parents but I can't even discuss anything with my parents as they know nothing about the industry. I have to work harder and be more attentive because I don't have an option. So it does make it tougher."

The actor started his career as a model at the early age of 16 and has won several titles including the Gladrags Face of the Year 2009 award and the NDTV Model of the Year 2010. He has also walked the runway for Indian and international designers including Manish Arora, Manish Malhotra and Rohit Bal. Before Student of the Year, Siddharth auditioned for a film that failed to take off. He worked as an assistant director to Karan Johar along with his now-co-star Varun Dhawan for “My Name Is Khan” (2010). "It has not been an easy journey. I started my career with modeling and then worked with Karan as an assistant director. At that time I had never imagined that he will cast me as a lead actor in his movie," says Siddharth.

Now, Siddharth will be seen in two upcoming movies, one a Dharma Productions film titled Hasee Toh Phasee and the next a film by Ekta Kapoor titled The Villain.

Karan Johar - One of Bollywood’s finest

Karan Johar - One of Bollywood's finest.

Karan Johar is better known as one of Bollywood’s biggest and most successful directors. But that isn’t all to this talented man. The son of the late producer Yash Johar and Hiroo Johar, Karan has directed films, produced more and acted too! 

Born on the 25th of May, 1972 in Mumbai, India; Karan Johar had spent his childhood watching some of B-town’s biggest names rise to glory. He completed his schooling at the Greenlawns High School, and Commerce and Economics at H R College, finally receiving a Master’s degree in French. The director-producer, being from a strong Bollywood background, has always had an affinity for movies, a fact that is reflected by the films he rolls out these days.

Karan first began as an actor, playing Raj’s (Shahrukh Khan) close friend in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). He also helped director Aditya Chopra with the screenplay and worked as the film’s assistant director. From then on, Karan Johar mastered the art of filmmaking and has released blockbusters, one after another. His first film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) was followed by Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) and My Name Is Khan (2010). Karan has also produced several hit films under his Dharma Productions banner including Kal Ho Naa Ho, Wake Up Sid, We Are Family and more, launching several new directors in the bargain. 

A few months ago, Karan unveiled his fifth directorial venture, Student of the Year, launching new talent in the industry. Up ahead, he will unveil the film Bombay Talkies with Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Aktar and Dibakar Banerjee.

Karan Johar – The brand ambassador of exposure?

Karan Johar has managed to make headlines time and again and has constantly been in the public’s eye. This filmmaker, known for the exceptionally heart-grabbing films that he has dished out in the past, has been the center of attention and has a huge fan following too. Busy preparing for his upcoming hip and fun film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Karan Johar is also working on the release of his segment in the film Bombay Talkies.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani will star Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone and the Dharma Productions chief was recently asked if this film will lead to an over-exposure of Deepika, given the fact that the actress has constantly been making appearances on screens. To this, Karan replied, “I have exposed myself time and again in the last two decades. I am the brand ambassador of exposure, so I will be the wrong person to answer this. But seriously speaking, I feel Deepika will be a part of immensely credible endeavors. Each one of them is different from the other. I think variety should be appreciated and not consistency.” The actress will play a bubbly role in the upcoming film and is bound to grab hearts yet again, this time with magic sprinkled by Karan Johar and the film’s director Ayan Mukerji.

“Deepika has proved her acting prowess in Cocktail and she has many films with different characters, so more power to her,” added Karan Johar. The film will release on the 31st of May, 2013.

Student of the Year was a challenging film for Karan Johar

Karan Johar’s Student of the Year hit cinema screens a few months ago and managed to create quite a buzz. A glamorous, extravagant and extremely campus romance, the film starred three newcomers making their first appearances on the big screen, Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. The film was Karan Johar’s first with debutant actors and without his close friend and lucky mascot, Shah Rukh Khan.

For Karan Johar, the film was more than just one of his several directorial ventures. Quoting Karan before the release of Student of the Year, “The film is a big responsibility on Dharma Production's shoulders and mine. We are launching the career of three new faces through this film - Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra. All of them are very promising and talented. So, we as a production house have to make sure that we stand up to the expectation of all”.

While Siddharth Malhotra is a model-turned-actor with no background in the film industry, Varun Dhawan is the son of director David Dhawan. Alia Bhatt on the other hand is the daughter of director Mahesh Bhatt and the half-sister of Pooja Bhatt. Siddharth and Varun have worked with Karan Johar before, assisting the director during the making of the film My Name Is Khan. Noticing their knack for the big-screen, Karan quickly roped the duo in for his upcoming film.

“Siddharth Malhotra as well as Varun Dhawan had assisted me in “My Name Is Khan” and were involved in the process of production right throughout. Moreover they also observed me quite closely as a director. What I like about them is that they are totally different from each other, be in terms of personality or energy. I realized that they had the faces that were for cinema and it was about time that they were seen on the big screen,” says Karan Johar.

Alia Bhatt celebrates her 20th birthday with her mother

Actress Alia Bhatt, the gorgeous girl who debuted in Karan Johar’s fifth directorial venture, Student of the Year, recently turned 20. However, the youngster, known for her diligence and her love for work, decided not to take a day off to celebrate her birthday. Instead, Alia continued the shoot for her upcoming film by Imtiaz Ali in Rajasthan. But Alia’s birthday certainly wasn’t uneventful and her mother Soni Razden made sure the pretty actress’ day was special. 

Her mother flew from Mumbai to Jaipur just to spend the day with her, surprising young Alia at the sets of the upcoming film. “Soni straight went to the sets to surprise Alia. The young actress didn’t want to take a break on her special day. She was keen to complete the schedule on time. The unit had planned a small celebration for her on the sets. She wasn’t expecting her mother at all,” says a source, adding, “Though she was very tired from the shoot schedule, all her exhaustion vanished the moment she set eyes on her mom. It was followed by the cake cutting ceremony and a small celebration.”

The actress will be seen gracing the big-screen in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, starring alongside Randeep Hooda. The filmmaker hasn’t divulged much about the film and neither have the actors. Apart from this project, Alia will also star in the upcoming Dharma Productions film, 2 States, an adaptation of author Chetan Bhagat’s bestselling novel.