Rajdhani Besan has roped in Karan Johar and Ananya Panday to promote gram flour, and everyone’s befuddled. It’s hard to imagine these Bollywood heavyweights pottering around their gleaming kitchens extolling the virtues of gram flour.
Celebrity endorsements are a tried-and-tested marketing strategy: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and L’Oreal Paris, Virat Kohli and Puma, Ranveer Singh and Pepsi. These pairings make sense. A cricket star endorsing a sports brand or an actor promoting a beauty product creates an instant connect. But it’s a disaster when a celebrity’s personal brand doesn’t align with the product. Rajdhani Besan is a case in point.
The commercial begins on a film set, with Karan Johar directing Ananya Panday. When he requests pakoras for everyone, Ananya quips, “Pakode voh bhi barish ke bina? (Pakoras, and without the rain?)” Instantly, an artificial rain sequence is staged, leading to the actress relishing a plate of crispy pakoras made with Rajdhani Besan.
The 20-second ad, released four days ago, has garnered over six lakh views on YouTube and 1.7 million views on Ananya Panday’s Instagram. People watched it–but were confused. Soon, Reddit erupted with viewers slamming the casting.
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Audiences’ reaction
The audience quickly spotted the mismatch, calling the campaign forced and superficial.
“Who would go out and buy a besan after seeing KJo and Ananya sell it? If there was a ranked list of all people that knows the least about Besan, KJo and Ananya have to be in the top 5,” a reddit user wrote.
Johar and Panday bore the brunt of the backlash. The ad is a PR disaster.
“Mind you this is the same woman who called curry leaves, spinach on Kapil’s show,” said another commentator, referring to the incident when Panday misidentified curry leaves on The Kapil Sharma Show.
The debate also highlighted the lengths celebrities are willing to go to for endorsements.
“I hope they both know what besan is,” quipped another user.
Choosing an ambassador whose image genuinely complements the product ensures the marketing feels organic and relatable. Rajdhani Besan’s gamble feels especially surprising given its otherwise strong association with desi culture.
In 2023, the brand partnered with actor Ali Asgar to portray a relatable grocery store owner. This was a smart move, considering Asgar’s long-standing popularity with Indian households since his Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki days.
Let’s face it—most kitchen-related decisions in India are still made by women. While bigger stars like Karan Johar and Ananya Panday might bring glitz and glamour, their ability to resonate with mothers and grandmothers—the real decision-makers—is questionable at best.
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Poor actor-brand collabs
Rajdhani Besan is not the first brand to get it wrong. The industry has seen its fair share of mismatched celebrity endorsements.
One infamous example is Shah Rukh Khan endorsing Fair & Handsome. Despite his universal appeal, the superstar faced backlash for promoting a fairness cream that perpetuates colourism and negative stereotypes around skin tone.
Another misstep was Emami’s Zandu Balm fiasco. After a Bollywood song titled “Zandu Balm” featured Malaika Arora dancing to suggestive lyrics, the brand tried to capitalise on the song’s fleeting popularity by collaborating with the actress. However, the move backfired—Malaika’s glamorous image and the risqué tone of the song clashed with Zandu Balm’s traditional, family-friendly reputation. The campaign was seen as as inauthentic and opportunistic.
Now, Rajdhani Besan’s brand image wasn’t affected that brutally, but it did end up creating a mockery of itself.
Brand: Rajdhani Besan
Agency: In-house
(Edited by Prashant)