Big B-Branded!

Last 2 weeks atleast 50% of the time on the Indian News channels has been dedicated to Big B's illness and of course all the mania associated with it...people worshipping and doing all kinds of rituals for him...etc etc!

Well, I dont have an opinion on whether this kind of adulation is right or wrong-nor am I Big B's biggest fan, but yes I have begun to admire the man over the past few years simply for the personna he has created for himself.

However thinking about it, do beleive that if anyone deserves this kind of adulation(if at all!!), then well probably Big B may be close on the list...

Which got me thinking on why is it that Big B really has become SUCH a big name in India--I mean he is being literally worshipped!!!(in an era where sons dont even care for their own parents!)...to me the answer is not soo much his acting or his Hero antics on screen as his "almost hero like" image off screen as well!!..

Here is a man who plays hero to millions of fans on screen, who idolise him as being the perfect son, father, lover, husband..man of principles...blah, blah and well he has successfully managed to pull off the same image for himself alive off screen as well....Kudos!

Its amazing how over a career running thru decades..there has hardly ever been anything negative written about Big B as a person...no pub brawls, no hunting episodes or mistreating girlfriends etc etc....

To me Big B is probabably one of the best examples of a great brand. Any brand typically goes through three basic phases in its lifecycle:-
1) Initiation
2) Growth (includes Peak)
3) Decline

Although Big B's initiation into this industry was not an easy one--he reached growth with zanjeer , which of course was the beginning of the growth phase for him. Clearly one of the reasons for the stupendous success of the angry young man "Brand" was that it actually mirrored the reality of the society in terms of unemployment, poverty and frustation amongst the youth.

However this was followed by a natural decline with films like Jaadugar making it clear that it was time to exit...!

And yet Big B is still there...why?..well coz the only way to give a second life to a brand is to rebrand it!...create a new brand and KBC did just that for him!...(although it was tried earlier too with music vidoes like Abby baby which failed miserably)...

Fact is there are very few brands in the world which have gone thru successful rebranding and emerged as winners both times and Big B is clearly one of them..a classic example of growth yet again!

Well either ways..for the sake of all his fans and for all the timeless entertainment he has provided us.....hope we continue to see him on screen for a long time!