MUMBAI: Actresses Sushmita Sen and Rani Mukherji have long since been wooed by either film makers or brand managers. However, it now looks like a thing of the past. Rani and Sushmita are being replaced in their advertisements by different actresses. And the difference is that the replacements are not Gen-X actresses.
Rani’s work has been handled by her father, Ram Mukherji and he used to deal with various brand managers. A brand manager, who recently replaced Rani, said, "Rani is a brilliant actress and we did have a great time working with her. But she had several issues and wanted a higher price, much more than her market value. We tried negotiating with her for several weeks, but as things were not moving any further, we approached Vidya Balan. The deal proceeded so smoothly that we dropped all ideas of wooing Rani anymore and signed up Vidya."
The same applies for Sushmita, wherein she has been replaced by Kajol in the Olay cream commercial. The brand manager disclosed, "Sushmita is a fine performer and is a lovely lady, but there is a lot of baggage and catering to that is a big hindrance for a suitable working relationship."
Strangely both the heroines have been replaced by actresses who are their contemporaries, in their thirties. Sushmita had brands like Pantene and Olay to her name. Rani had Dabur Vatika, Good Night, Munch and Fantaa. With working environments catering more to the actor rather than a star, brands and film makers are trying to move away from unrealistic and temperamental demands.
