A string of flops, or a few bad career choices are causing more harm than you can imagine. Add to that the 'age factor' and you have a host of Bollywood divas who are losing out on plum endorsement deals which keeps them going on lean days and pays for that dazzling solitaire on the spare finger.
Reasons cited by brand managers are as varied and bizarre as 'matters of clashing principles' to a 'new target audience' to simply, 'the contract got over.'
Take a look at who's lost what, and to whom...
Rani Mukerji
Major brands lost: Titan Raga, Lux, Fanta and Nestle Munch
Replaced by: Asin (Titan Raga), Genelia D'Souza (Fanta), Priyanka Chopra - (Lux)
Industry buzz: Rani Mukerji saw a fantastic 2005 with back-to-back successes like Black and Bunty Aur Babli, which translated in good brand endorsement deals. But since then Rani has delivered eight consecutive flops.
Her Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) was successful only overseas. Sources close to Rani insist she was extremely disappointed by Nestle's behaviour.
Munch was a lesser-known brand, which she helped popularise, especially in smaller towns. Nestle knew any renewal of the contract would entail a revision of her fees. They chose to do away with her instead.
But it's not just the brands. Rani's problem is that even directors with whom she delivered hits are wary of repeating projects with her. The only prominent brand she has now is Goodknight.
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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Major brands lost: Nakshatra Diamonds, L'Oreal
Replaced by: Katrina Kaif (Nakshatra), Sonam Kapoor (L'Oreal)
Industry buzz: Industry watchers feel it's her high price that's doing the damage plus her inapproachability, which has increased post-marriage.
Katrina replacing Ash as the Nakshatra brand ambassador made headlines and Gitanjali MD Mehul Choksi's recent comment that 'Our sales figures have increased since the time we roped in Katrina' rubbed salt on Ash's wounds.
Also, what no luxury brand will admit, they still hesitate to have a married actress as their brand ambassador, unless it is something like a consumer durable/family brand, which is endorsed by the likes of Kajol, thanks to her homely image.
While Longines won't replace her soon, road ahead seems difficult for Ash.
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Preity Zinta
Major brands lost: BSNL, Head & Shoulders and Scooty Pep
Replaced by: Deepika Padukone (BSNL), Kareena Kapoor (Head & Shoulders) and Trisha (Scooty Pep)
Industry buzz: At a time when ad budgets are being slashed and value for money is the mantra while signing star endorsers, Preity with her fading popularity doesn't make business sense any longer.
The dimpled actress had actually bagged her first film project (the then-shelved Shekhar Kapoor film) after being noticed in a Cadbury's Perk ad.
She is now being replaced by much younger names - from a virtually unknown Trisha (South starlet) to Deepika Padukone.
Sources close to Preity however claim that she is working out a good strategy to claw her way back. Apparently Preity is aiming for bigger, meatier contracts under a much-reduced price.
Also, with the IPL season 2 slated to start soon, Preity (co-owner of Kings XI Punjab) may succeed in striking new deals.
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Sushmita Sen
Major brands lost: Pantene, Tag Heuer.
Replaced by: Katrina Kaif (Pantene), Tag Heuer (Priyanka Chopra)
Industry buzz: Observers feel Sushmita's inconsistent choice of films has resulted in her downgrade in the brand endorsement market.
She may have a few projects on hand but her A-list status is history. In 2007 she had some 10 brands in her kitty.
But by mid 2008 it came down to just four. Now with Pantene deserting her, the only brand that she has is Olay.
She is turning out to be the least preferred star endorsers amongst the 30-plus actresses. With her directorial debut Rani Laxmibai also reportedly shelved, it would be tougher for her to make some moolah from ad campaigns.
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