There are many Bollywood celebrities who have invested in various businesses from clothing line to hotel chains and startups
Just like choosing the right film or right endorsement, Bollywood celebrities have been paying equal attention in making right business decisions.
Stars who have turned entrepreneurs now are also called as ‘starvestors’. One such starvestor is Salman Khan, who recently launched his grooming and personal care brand called Frsh.
While the personal care category is new for Salman, the actor already has been running a successful clothing line under the brand name 'Being Human'.
Like Khan, there are many Bollywood celebrities who have invested in various businesses from clothing line to hotel chains to start-ups.
“In the olden days, it was the fading stars that would invest in businesses for a second innings. Now, many acquire equity in lieu of brand endorsement fees, and hence are in business by default at a pretty young age,” Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogae Media, a Mumbai-based marketing and communication agency told Moneycontrol.
Among the Khans, Shah Rukh Khan is counted as one of the most successful entrepreneurs. Along with a production house called Red Chillies Entertainment, SRK has invested in sports.
He has an Indian Premier League (IPL) team called Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but that’s not it. His team Trinbago Knight Riders, that plays the Caribbean Premier League, is one of the most successful teams of the league. He also owns the Cape Town Knight Riders of the T20 Global League.
After the success of his film Gully Boy, a film that told the story of struggle of an Indian rapper, actor Ranveer Singh turned entrepreneur and launched his record label called IncInk.
The leading ladies of the industry have also shown their business acumen. From Deepika Padukone to Anushka Sharma, the actresses have dabbled in the fashion space by launching brands like All About You and Nush.
But does the plan B always work?
According to Goyal, very few succeed in business. “Amitabh Bachchan was bankrupted. No other significant success except Shahrukh, who has gained from the KKR ownership and done well with Red Chillies too. Sunny Deol’s recording studio Sunny Sounds was an early pioneer and made money. Poonam Dhillon was the first to commercialize vanity vans. So, some succeeded. But most lost money, including Sachin, whose restaurant Tendulkar’s had to be shuttered,” he said.
However, there is one interesting trend most of the Bollywood stars have picked up and that’s investing in already running start-ups.
Deepika Padukone has made an investment in FMCG brand called Epigamia, Priyanka Chopra has invested in dating app Bumble. And like them, there are many who have shown interests in different startups.
