Mumbai, Jul 8 (IANS): With Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan stepping in to endorse it, the humble, home-grown kachchi ghani mustard oil is acquiring some star power.

It is suddenly being recognised as a smart, new-age oil with enormous health benefits -- and seems ready to battle imports such as olive oil.

Bachchan, who recently began endorsing the Emami group's kachchi ghani, follows in the footsteps of actor Boman Irani, who has for years been the brand ambassador for P Mark Mustard Oil.

When Irani first endorsed P Mark Mustard Oil, marketing experts had wondered at a male celebrity being used to endorse a product traditionally targeted at women. One headline at that time had asked: "What is Boman Irani doing in a woman's world?"

Explains Vivek Puri, Managing Director, Puri Oil Mills, promoter of P Mark Mustard Oil: "All edible oil ads use typical images like the woman in the kitchen, the family gathered round the dining table -- and they use a female brand ambassador. We don't use these predictable stereotypes. We wanted a celebrity whose appeal would straddle both our traditional upcountry consumers as well as younger, urban pan-India consumers."

"Boman Irani specialises as an actor, having already played iconic roles like Doctor Asthana (Munna Bhai MBBS) and Professor Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Three Idiots), as we specialise in making mustard oil; therefore, we felt he would bring the right blend of entertainment and credibility to our brand communication," added Umesh Verma, the company's head of corporate communications.

Over the past decade, awareness of mustard oil's health benefits -- especially cardiac health -- has been on the rise, with doctors, nutritionists and dieticians rediscovering its role in fostering a healthy lifestyle.

And now with Bachchan joining Irani in endorsing it, the buzz around mustard oil is only likely to increase.