Poor Mahindra Dhoni.  He is in the news for all the wrong reasons.  Endorsing a campaign for Amrapali builders in the shady area of Noida has not been a wise move, out of the field.  He’s been clean bowled by the people who invested in these apartments.  Because the builders have not progressed to the next stage of completion. Leaving all these buyers with no residences, and in a vacuous black hole, so to speak.  The fury has been so intense that Dhoni has had to withdraw his name for the advertising blitz, and from the campaign.  But the fact is, should he have had to really accept the blame for what happened?  He probably didn’t have a clue about the future of the developer or his antecedents.  All he was aware of is the endorsement fee.

This has led every South Asian celebrity on record to check the authenticity, and credibility of the brands they sign on.  Let’s face it, no celebrity on record, however far reaching their following or their adulation is willing to step on a mine-field that would blow-up their squeaky clean reputation (or so they think).  From maybe a 5-star endorser like Aishwarya Rai to a B-grade actor like Jimmy Shergill, the entire brigade have gone to press to fight for their rights (and the huge paycheck that awaits them for the next best thing).  The truth be told, every product is full of gas, and sugar in excess, even the ‘choice of a new generation’ that was once endorsed by a heavyweight like Shahrukh Khan.

I’ve worked on several ad campaigns that featured celebrities, but two of the most successful ones that come to mind was the one that had Sachin Tendulkar encouraging South Asians to test their blood sugar for Diabetes, and then to take corrective action in terms of diet and exercise.  He did not charge us a cent for the ad campaign, and he did it because generationally, or so he said, his family had suffered from the disease.  Amitabh Bachchan endorsed a drug for asthma because for years altogether he has endured this disease.  He also did it free of cost.  Both these ‘globally recognizable’ South Asian celebrities decided to put their celebrity status to good use by becoming spokespersons for a cause, and to support their fight against a particular disease.  The pharmaceutical companies behind these two endorsements could have paid them their asking fee, but instead both of them politely declined.  Marketing surveys were conducted after these campaigns came out, and the one that had the pharmaceutical company smiling in terms of skyrocketing sales was undoubtedly the one signed off by Amitabh Bachchan.  The reason behind its success was obvious; it may have also been absurdist to many, but it was believable to the actual sufferers of asthma.  They identified with their superstar who had an Achilles heel, and drugstores had to keep up with the continuous, unstoppable demand.

Elton John, Bono, Sting, Angelina Jolie, and Justin Beaver support causes that they care about.  It looks like a carefully orchestrated PR effort to show another side of their humanitarian nature.  Recently when I worked for a charity organization that did work for underprivileged children, I shortlisted some names I thought would jump at the opportunity to show that they really cared.  Among those names were Deepika Padukone, Ayushmann Khurana, and Kangana Ranaut.  Ms. Padukone had several gatekeepers and it was by chance that I eventually managed to get through one of them who very condescendingly asked how much we could afford to pay Madam as she was really busy, and had several global cosmetic companies wooing her, but she could spare a few minutes if the price was right.  Needless to add we dropped her like a hot potato. Ayushmann Khurana put me through his secretary who invariably asked me how much could we afford.  Telling them that we were a charity organization did not seem to deter them from asking the pertinent question “How much money?”  As for Kangana Ranaut, we couldn’t get to her from Adam’s.  Maybe she was shopping for her next do at Oscar de la Renta in New York, or visiting her local Witch Doctor (she is currently in the news for stalking Hrithik Roshan).

Deepika was also in the news for her battle with depression.  There is bound to be a line-up of pharmaceutical organizations at her doorstep trying to get her to endorse their range of anti depressants, and this time around I bet you nothing will be for free.

Jude Paul Fernandes is the author of ‘Frost Bites’ which is available at the Toronto Public Library.  He is currently working on a novel ‘Lonely in Mumbai’ and can be followed on Twitter @JudePaulFerns