In 2016, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan-starrer Sultan acquired a total of more than 350 crores in both national and foreign markets, in the box office collection. Film-related brands are finding rich dividends nowadays by placing their brands in movie scenes. Sultan was released in 5,450 screens worldwide on June 6, 2016, and was directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.

Brands and brand analysts note that the right amount of field amplification can draw consumers ' interest, as well as in-film promotion. Thus, a lot of brands recently look to their placing their products in many films, so that their products and brands are visible to the vast number of movie-goers in India.

The Yash Raj Film production’s Sultan has ranked a total of Rs 1,180 crore on the domestic market, and Rs 2,253 crore on the international market. Film placements for brands including CP Plus camera, Astral Pipes, Force Motors, Flair Pens, Escorts Tractors, Relispray, Paras Milk Videocon DTH, and Paras Ghee can be seen in the movie. The only out film placement in the movie is Micromax handheld handsets. The company also notes the visibility of a blockbuster.

For example, in Sultan, Salman Khan portrays the sales and service franchisee of Videocon d2h. It is illustrated with flair type signs and tins of Paros 'ghee' are also shown in the movie.

Three main brands whose product placements have been used extensively in the movie are - Escort tractor, Paras Milk and CP Plus camera

Let’s talk about these three brand’s placement in the movie-

• Escort tractor- Escort tractor is shown in many scenes in the movie. The first scene is when Aakash (played by Amit Sadh) comes to Sultan’s office in his village to see him, a tractor’s wheel gets stuck in a ditch, which Sultan pulls out. That tractor is Escort tractor. Next, the tractor is shown in the movie when Sultan is training before the state championship, where he is pulling a tractor for his preparation. It’s shown again in the movie when Sultan comes back to his village after securing a medal in the Commonwealth games. There, he is seen on Escort tractor, celebrating with people.

• Paras Milk- In the movie’s beginning, Sultan is shown having Paras Milk in his home. Also, before going to Akhada to wrestle, he is shown drinking Paras Milk.

• CP Plus camera- All the scenes in the movie in which CCTV’s are shown, those cameras are of CP Plus. Also, during the Pro Fight League scenes, the replays are shown having been recorded from CP Plus cameras.

Seeing the increasing number of brand placements in movies, Ashish Patil, vice-president of Yash Raj films said that in the movie Sultan Yah Raj films have made very innovative eight in-film and one out-film collaboration. Each one is incorporated very smoothly into the script/film plot. We are optimistic that the incorporation into the film will serve as a case studies on how to do things right and seamlessly weave into the tale of a film in the brand." Most of the Industry experts state that says the promotion and placement of a brand in film usually costs €75 lakh to €33 crore.

However, the branding charge was not reported on by most companies and brands.

Videocon d2h connected to the movie to carry the brand into India's rural hinterland, as the movie was more rural-based and Salman’s stardom went beyond cities and urban India.

The film placement is also an extension of Khushiyon k iChatri’s recent brand campaign.

"We are glad to have such a normal, seamless association with this film," said Anil Khera, CEO Videocon d2h, in connection with the Brand partnership with Sultan Film. This entire campaign is intended to build a positive customer link and impact the upcoming DAS – 4th digital cities since Hindi movies have a strong impact on these areas.

In the light of film promotion, Mr. MG Ambi Parameshwaran who is a long-term media and advertising industry expert that if Films will support brands in showcasing, the brand too will increase their reach and budget in return. He also notes that brands support not only customers but also the industry when asked if they would trigger a high-level brand recall after promotion.

Salman and Anushka are portrayed in the film as wrestlers, and the supporting cast includes Randeep Hooda, Amit Sadh and Kumud Mishra.

Mr. Malik in the movie

Not only these stars, but the film Sultan also features a short cameo by the star of the advertising and media world, our very own Mr. Ritz Malik, the head of Creative Thinks Media.

In the movie, Mr. Malik appears in three scenes, which are important in the movie’s storyline. He appears as an Investor in the movie.

• The first scene is when Aakash (played by Amit Sadh) is trying to convince the investors to acknowledge his idea of Pro Take Down, an Indian pro-wrestling just like UFC. As with any new idea which doesn’t have many takers in India, the investors are reluctant. When Aakash is trying to convince them to invest in the tournament as it can be a huge sports changer in the country, Mr. Malik says to Aakash‘’ Jab do saal mein kuch nahi kar paye to 6 mahine men kya ukhaad loge?’’ meaning that if you haven’t done anything significant related to Pro Take Down in years, what can you possibly achieve in 6 months?

• The second scene is when Aakash brings Sultan (Salman Khan), a retired Kabaddi champion after years of retirement from Kabaddi to Delhi. Aakash is persuading the investors to make Sultan participate in Pro Take Down. But when the investors look at Sultan’s overweight persona, they aren’t confident of making Sultan participate in the tournament. Seeing Sultan’s current appearance, Mr. Malik says ‘Ye ladega? Kaha se pakad ke laye ho isse Aakash….’Pet niklahua h iska’’ to Aakash.

Another thing which he says in the scene is ‘’Aur sponsor? Tujhe maalum Haina Aakash, Bina sponsorship ke koi wrestler, ring m nai utar sakta.’’ As no brand would be willing to give Sultan sponsorship at that time.

• The third scene comes in the climax of the movie Pro Take Down has been successfully completed and Sultan has been crowned its champion. There, Mr. Malik is seen clapping and applauding Aakash for his and Sultan’s achievements.

Creative Thinks Media- About

Creative Thinks Media, the Noida-based advertising firm, is a marketing and branding service specialist. They specialize in the facilities of radio, outdoor and online media.

The perfect combination of the digital marketing and commercial advertisement networks, Creative Thinks Media is specialized in radio, TV billboard, advertising, print ad, in film branding, artist management, etc., and also modern Internet and numerous social networking platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have been mastered by Creative Thinks Media.

Like with many other Bollywood movies these days, a lot of brands like Paras Ghee and Videocon, did their product placement in Sultan movie, making their brand visible in movie’s scenes.