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Pass Pass plays cupid in Yaadein

Bhupesh Bhandari & Neha Kaushik

Guess who all are putting in guest appearances in Subhash Ghai's latest offering, Yaadein? The guest stars are Pass Pass mouth freshner, Hero Cycles and Coke.

The three will make important appearances in the forthcoming film, which stars amongst others the latest Bollywood heartthrob, Hrithik Roshan.

"The real hero of the film is Pass Pass. It brings the hero and the heroine together," gushes a senior executive of the Rs 6-billion Delhi-based DS Group, which manufactures the mouth freshner.

According to him, the heroine of the film, Kareena Kapoor, warms her way into Hrithik Roshan's heart by offering him Pass Pass-a trick she learns from his ex-girlfriend. Rest is the stuff Bollywood flicks are made of.

But what made Ghai zero in on Pass Pass, a Rs 400 million brand? According to sources, Ghai has known the DS Group promoters for almost two decades. "He is a close friend of one of the promoter-directors of the group," the source said.

Old friendships notwithstanding, Ghai is not giving Pass Pass a role in his film for free. The group will pay the filmmaker a substantial sum, though the amount is yet to be frozen.

For the Munjals-promoted Hero Cycles, it's part of an on-going deal with Ghai. The two have had a long relationship with Hero Cycles sponsoring a television programme marketed by Ghai's Mukta Arts.

Executives associated with the project call it an "in-film placement of the product." And, of course, Hero bicycles are the real show stealers. "The bicycle is an intrinsic part of the film with the heroine, Kareena Kapoor, riding two Hero Cycles products: Miss India and Queen," sources disclosed.

Unlike Pass Pass and Hero Cycles, Coca-Cola does not claim to be the main event in the film, but says that its presence looms large in the background.

According to Shripad Nadkarni, vice-president, marketing, Coca-Cola India, the advertising does not involve loud, background banners or displays of the brand. Instead the brand's presence tries to blend with the story.

Although Nadkarni refused to divulge the exact details of the brand usage in the movie (saying that he is bound by a contract), he says that it is similar to the manner in which Coke was blended in with the story in Taal, Ghai's last film.

Commenting on the fact that Coke's brand ambassador Hrithik Roshan is the hero of the film, Nadkarni says that it will definitely be an add-on.

Meanwhile, Coke will launch joint promos with the movie, once it is released on July 27.

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