5-cr worth of sparkle!
- economictimes.com
For the first time two of India’s best known brands from the glamour world – ad film maker Tarsem Singh and the alluring Aishwarya Rai – have come together in a 60-second TV commercial for Nakshatra diamond jewellery. Shot in a surreal setting of Sossusvlei, Namibia, new-look Ash was reportedly paid close to Rs 5 crore for the campaign, while the remuneration for The Cell director Singh – his first shot at an Indian brand – was around Rs 1.5 crore.Ash sports a new hair-do and styling, along with a wardrobe designed by two designers, India-based Ashley and Zelda from London. The post production of the film was done in South Africa.
Conceptualised by advertising agency J Walter Thompson, the 60-seconder depicts how the radiance and brilliance of Nakshatra transforms a dancing Apsara (played by Ash), whose energy and vitality is on the wane as the universe is in the midst of an eclipse. Singh uses the esoteric world of vast space, endless horizons, dramatic desert-scapes and jagged mountain heights to bring out the essence of Nakshatra. The commercial aims to convey that diamonds are a miracle of nature and that nothing could either replace or replicate them.
Diamond Trading Company, the owners of the Nakshatra brand of collection, have earmarked an annual media spend of around Rs 10 crore – spread over television, print and outdoor – for the campaign in the country. And why not! “The Indian market has shown the highest growth for any of DTC markets worldwide,” says a company executive. Ash has been the brand ambassador for DTC’s Nakshatra range, appearing in television and print campaigns. Nakshatra was the first brand to be launched by the Diamond Trading Company in the year 2000.
There has been some talk of Tarsem Singh directing Ash in a forthcoming Hollywood venture, but either side is yet to confirm. However, his next venture, “The Fall” is currently under production, with Gulshan Grover in the lead along with a five-year old girl, to be shot extensively in India, apart from Turkey, Romania and South Africa.
Indian-born Tarsem Dhandwar Singh hogged the international media limelight in 1991 for his much-awarded music video for R.E.M. 'Losing My Religion'. In 2000 he awed audiences worldwide with his psychological thriller, Jennifer Lopez starrer The Cell. Ash has several Hollwood projects at hand including Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice, Roland Joffe’s Singularity and Coline Serreau-directed Chaos.
