Piyali Dasgupta and Manisha Almadi Midha for Times News Network

• They are the faces that launch a thousand products and take home multimillions for that. DT finds out who are India’s biggest brand names and what makes them click.

Mumbai, May 10: This is a battle of icons — Sachin or Shah Rukh, Rahul Dravid or Aishwarya Rai? In their own right, all of them signify the biggest brands that India boasts of today. But, just who is biggest of them all? The answer, according to some news reports, came a few days ago in form of Sachin’s recent signing of a long term deal with Saatchi & Saatchi. The money at which India’s richest sports star has been signed at: Rs 180 crores. Or is it? Says V Shantakumar, CEO & managing director of the company, ‘‘ We have not revealed the endorsement money at which we have signed Sachin and it would remain confidential. The announcement of endorsement rate of Rs 180 crores is wildly speculated by the media.’’

Whether the deal has gone through or not at that scale, just who are the biggest brand names in India?

I. Sachin and Shah Rukh Khan

The first position will be a tie between Sachin and SRK. ‘‘ Sachin has signed a recent endorsement deal for Rs 2.5 crore. However, his past deals have gone even as high as Rs 6 crores. He also earns Rs 50 lakh from the BCCI contract,’’ says an industry source. And what are the USPs of Brand Sachin? According to the management firm, he remains the most marketable property in India today. ‘‘ Sachin is an icon for the youth. Whether he plays or not, he remains the world’s best batsman and a gentleman,’’ says Shantakumar.

SRK, meanwhile, charges anything from Rs 2.5 to 3.5 crore per endorsement. Ad man Prahlad Kakkar terms him as the badshah of branding ‘‘ because he has a clean image. Professionally , Shah Rukh has a lot of charisma.’’ Besides, what accounts for Shah Rukh’s brand equity is ‘‘ his own production company that make lot of movies. And Shah Rukh’s stageshows which are very popular and the maximum an actor does.’’

II. Amitabh Bachan

Big B can endorse anything from classy suitings to chyawanprash. He has the charisma and the appeal, which has floored audience for so long. His endorsement charges vary between Rs 2 to 3 crores. ‘‘ Amitabh has been around for so long, and people just can’t have enough of him. This itself proves his popularity.’’

III. Dravid and Aishwarya

Miss World and Mr Dependable take the slot number 3. While Dravid gets anywhere between Rs 1 to 2 crore, Ash gets Rs 2 crore per deal. Rahul’s consistency and focused approach to the game helps him remain the darling of the ad world. Ash’s growing appeal in Hollywood, meanwhile, has helped her rise much above other actresses when it comes to endorsement charges.

Rising Stars

They are the next big things... waiting in the wings to rise and shine. From the world of sports, the contenders range from MS Dhoni (Rs 25-30 lakh) to Yuvraj Singh (Rs 30-35 lakh) to Sania Mirza (Rs 75 lakh). Entertainment industry , meanwhile, has Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan. Their endorsement charges range from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. ‘‘ A major portion of the movie-going audience is young and they can relate to there irreverent charm,’’ explain the experts .

A numbers Game: 

Cricketing success and huge ad endorsements go hand in hand. With so much at stake, luck obviously is a huge deciding factor. Needless to say, even our newest cricket heroes do everything to keep Lady Luck smiling... like wearing their lucky numbers stuck on to the backs of their shirts courtesy numerology.

Uthappa Umder "Cover":

Robin Uthappa covered up his unlucky number 26 (numerologist claim that 26, which adds up to 8, is a “disruptive” number) with paint till he got another T-shirt for his debut match. “At least I warded off the negative energies,” says Robin.

Sreeshanth "Bowled"India Over:

S Sreesanth, India’s latest bowling sensation, says that numerology has definitely worked for him. “When you’re representing your country at an international level, why take a risk?” says Sreesanth. Jumaani elaborates, “From a 55, he
was advised to wear a 36, which adds up to the number 9, ruled by the planet Mars, that represents energy. A bowler needs to have that killer attitude.” Astrologer Bejan Daruwalla adds, “A ‘slice of luck’ plays an important part in the game of cricket. Dropping catches, not getting run-out , hitting a match-winning six is all about taking chances.”

(With inputs from Nicole Dastur)