Shinata Blog: Katrina Kaif becomes the new face of Barbie and Estee Lauder snaps up Freida Pinto

Bollywood beauties are taking over the world - move over Angelina Jolie and Eva Mendez, there are two new girls in town to steal your limelight as two Bollywood hotties become the new face of two leading international brands - Barbie and Estee Lauder.
 
There was once a time when international cosmetic brands and designers were afraid to use Indian beauties to endorse their product. Why so? Perhaps the inclination to use Hollywood starlets had a universal appeal? Or maybe because there simply weren’t enough Indian models that had that certain je ne sais quai which designer houses and cosmetic brands alike felt compelled to recruit for their ad campaign?

However in recent years things have changed and everyone has gone Bollywood mad! Last year international cosmetics brand MAC launched its first Bollywood range MAC goes India with Indian designer Manish Arora. There are also more Indian models working the catwalk in Milan, Paris and London and of course not to forget Shilpa Shetty winning Celebrity Big Brother in 2007! Lets face it, it is after all her success in the show which increased awareness of the Bollywood film industry in the UK. Keeping herself in the public eye, Shetty successfully launched her own perfume which sold out within the first month and since then has starred in her own theatrical production about Bollywood! What a big change from 10 years ago?!
 
Only a few weeks ago I had posted a blog about the success of Slumdog Millionaire’s leading lady Freida Pinto who has now become Bollywood’s highest paid actress in history. Clearly there’s nothing stopping this lady - she’s done it yet again; with a reported pay cheque of £200,000 Pinto is the new face of Estee Lauder, recruited to front their ad campaign across the international market whereby former faces of the cosmetic brand include actresses Liz Hurley and Gwyneth Paltrow. It is only the fourth time in history that an Indian woman has became the face of an international cosmetics brand, the first being Diana Hayden in 1997 who became the face of L’oreal Paris after winning Miss World in 1997. Then in 2005 former Miss World 1994 and Bollywood/Hollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachan was recruited by L’oreal as was international Indian model Ujjwala Raut who joined the list in 2006 after becoming the face of YSL, thus making Freida Pinto the fourth to become the face of Estee Lauder.
 
Anirban Das, CEO of Pinto’s management team is keen not to have her type-casted as a Bollywood starlet which could be one of the factors which Estee Lauder considered when selecting Pinto to endorse the cosmetic brand -  “Freida can't be compared to Aishwarya because we're not pitching her as an Indian girl in international films. Freida is a true global face."

Since Slumdog Millionaire swept last month's Oscars, Pinto has landed a series of lucrative roles in films being shot by a number of top directors.  The likes of Woody Allen and Julian Schnabel have shown great interest and Freida is also tipped to be the next Bond girl. She can also been seen on the front covers of Vogue, Maxim, Cosmopolitan and Elle - every girls dream really. According to sources close to the star she has now overtaken top Bollywood stars Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, who recently starred with Steve Martin in Pink Panther 2. Her earnings have now topped over £2 million:

"Freida is fast reaching top status in the international arena. The actress's projects with big film-makers like Woody Allen have helped her join a league which no other Indian actress has achieved so far," said a film analyst. Pinto also modelled in India, Paris, New York, Milan and London fashion week for international designers.

I think it may be fair to say Freida has overtaken her Indian rivals to become the real millionaire queen of . Good going Miss Pinto, we wish you all the best on your international venture. 
 
And from one of the biggest Bollywood exports to the international film scene, to one of the biggest imports to have graced the Bollywood silver screen from the UK - Katrina Kaif. The super sexy starlet is the new face of Barbie, but she wasn’t the brand’s first or even second choice…

Aishwarya Rai Bachan was eagerly approached by Mattel, the brand behind Barbie, but according to reports the star rejected the request to be immortalised as a Barbie doll due to her professional commitments. Mattel’s second choice was Bollywood newcomer and chocolate girl Genelia D’souza who starrred alongside Amir Khan’s nephew Imran Khan in the 2008 release Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. It is thought her cutesy, youthful qualities appealed to the brand, however D’souza too declined the offer.

Barbie, the iconic doll that has helped young girls pass countless hours in a make-believe world that mirrored real life glamour, turned 50 on March 23rd and to celebrate her birthday, Matel ventured out to India to find a new face to endorse the brand and work alongside Indian designers to showcase a new range of clothing at Lakme India Fashion Week 2009.

Having sealed the deal as the new face of Barbie, Katrina Kaif is said to be delighted with the honour; more so because a Barbie doll bearing likeness to the Bollywood actress is in the pipeline and will come as a great surprise to the world sometime soon. “Every girl at some point of time in her childhood has played with a Barbie doll and wanted to be just like a Barbie doll,” admitted Katrina, “and so have I. She makes a sweet, fun and lively companion.”
 
It is true, Barbie is the world’s only brand that allows girls to imagine themselves as a mermaid to a movie star, a fairy to a fashionista, and a princess to a president, serving a purpose to girls as they try on different personalities, careers, and explore the world and all its possibilities without ever having to leave home. She allows girls to dream beyond and know that a woman has choices, having herself represented more than 100 careers in her lifetime, but now Barbie will inspire the Indian culture and promote Bollywood with Katrina Kaif as its new face!
 
Other international celebrities who have lent there look and become the faces of Barbie include Diana Ross, Cher and Beyonce; Katrina Kaif is the first Indian to became a Barbie Doll.
 
Congratulations are therefore due to both Katrina Kaif and Freida Pinto on landing these two international campaigns. As Brit-Asians we should really be proud of these two Indian beauties, especially Katrina Kaif as she is Brit-Asian herself!

Ciao for now…see ya’ll soon !
 

Shinata Sangha
 

*If you would like a topic to be mentioned or know any latest gossip which you'd like to add to Brit-Asian Magazine please feel free to contact me on Shinata_Sangha@hotmail.com
 
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