The Mononymous Stars

Orry, Uorfi, Teja. Not everyone is familiar with these names, but those who do know them know that they have big universes. Orry, or Orhan Awatramani, a social media personality, is a liver, as he likes to say, and he lives life. Uorfi Javed dresses down for a living. And Teja (as in Tejasswi Prakash), when she is not winning reality TV shows or acting in Ektaa Kapoor serials, is wowing people on the red carpet. These influencers often earn more than the biggest stars—apart from actors like Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma. YouTube stars like Ranveer Allahbadia and Samdish are interviewing Union ministers and chief ministers. According to Statista, the influencer marketing industry in India is valued at over ₹1,200 crore. The industry is expected to grow at 25 per cent to touch ₹2,800 crore by 2026. There are actors such as Barkha Singh and Anushka Sen who are able to make a good living from social media in between film roles, whereas Diipa Büller- Khosla, a fashion influencer, makes about ₹30 lakh a month. Singh earns ₹25 lakh a month. Being a celebrity costs money in Mumbai. There are red-carpet appearances that require high-fashion couture, hair, make-up and even the right car from which to alight. Then there is the payment to photographers and a fee for PR management. Each appearance can set one back by ₹1.5 lakh. So as much as consumer ads are CSR for struggling superstars, social media is a great source of financial support for stars-in-the-making. As Wamiqa Gabbi, rising star of this year’s Jubilee and Charlie Chopra & the Mystery of Solang Valley said recently, her presence on Instagram prevents her from taking on embarrassing roles. She is able to attract a certain amount of revenue from her reels. A few years ago, jewellery store inaugurations and fashion collection launches performed the same function, allowing women in the industry some amount of financial independence.

Shifting Axis

If any proof was needed that the entertainment power axis is shifting from Mumbai to Hyderabad, it was obvious when Netflix Chief Content Officer and Co-CEO Ted Sarandos spent three days in Hyderabad visiting the homes of the stars there along with Netflix India Vice President Monika Shergill. These stars included Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya, Jr NTR and extended members of the Akkineni clan. This was immediately after Netflix threw a big party in Mumbai for the premiere of The Archies, directed by Zoya Akhtar, which had almost all of Bollywood in attendance. This is not surprising since it is the debut of scions from three film families: the Bachchans, Shah Rukh Khan’s family as well as Boney Kapoor and Sridevi’s family. Hyderabad is also home to several dynasties so that must have saved Sarandos a few extra trips. A meeting with Ram Charan ensures a meeting with his father Chiranjeevi and a visit to Nagarjuna’s home ensures a meeting with Naga Chaitanya and his cousin Rana Daggubati. It is interesting that American capitalism is so firmly behind entertainment industries which are still organised on feudal lines. Not all the attempts in the world have allowed foreign studios to grow roots here. Only alliances with family-run businesses help, which may explain the kind of entertainment coming out of both Mumbai and Hyderabad. Progressive values remain on paper, just boxes to be ticked. Anything remotely politically sensitive is buried quietly, whether it is Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, or Anurag Kashyap’s series based on Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City.

Scene and Heard

VP Menon had a brief role in Sam Bahadur, with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel despatching him to Srinagar with Sam Manekshaw in order to make the erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh agree to the terms of accession. But in the forthcoming Union: The Making of India, the former secretary to the Government of India will have a lead role along with Ashutosh Rana, who plays Patel. He will be played by Kay Kay Menon, and it should be interesting to see what the brilliant actor does with the role. Expect to see more of these historical figures in Emmay Entertainment’s adaptation of Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. But they definitely need a better Jawaharlal Nehru than Neeraj Kabi in Sam Bahadur.

cinemaentertainmentKay Kay Menonsocial media influencersTed SarandosThe Mononymous StarsWamiqa Gabbi