The curious case of Zandu Balm and Dabangg

BRAND ITEM: So now Malaika Arora Khan gets to be the brand ambassador for Zandu Balm.

The controversy over the 'Zandu Balm' song in the film Dabangg and the subsequent rapprochement between the ointment manufacturer and the film producer is a classic example of a farce being played out in full public glare.

It was a farce all right. But such a poor one that it couldn't even make one laugh. The contending parties of course have started sleeping together. Happily so.

Dabangg has been one of the biggest hits in recent times. Its first weekend box office collections of Rs 48 crore broke all records. It overtook the first weekend collections of Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots at Rs 42 crore and Ghajini at Rs 40 crore. The song, in fact, had been released two months before the film was.

On September 17, Emami Ltd served a legal notice to Arbaaz Khan Productions for using the phrase "zandu balm" in the raunchy "Munni badnaam hui" track of the Salman Khan blockbuster Dabangg citing copyright infringement. The notice sent by Emami's counsel read, "My clients are in the business of producing and marketing various ayurvedic and other medicines including a popular product known as Zandu Balm. In the song, the name Zandu Balm has been used continuously at various places.

"By using the brand name in the song, you have not only violated the copyright of my clients, but you have also made an attempt to defame the reputation of my clients and the product manufactured by them."

The company asked the producer to remove the phrase "Zandu Balm" or delete the song from the film altogether. Emami, which acquired Zandu Pharmaceuticals in 2008 for Rs 700 crore, is a Rs 1,000 crore entity today.

It was not a notice sent out on the heat of the moment. It was way too carefully worded for that. It was about copyright violation. Strange that it would have taken them two months to phrase so few lines. And the company also claimed defamation.

One was surprised at that, since if anything the song had ensured a high brand recall for the ointment. Yet, the move did come as a surprise to most since a company official had even gone on record saying that sales of Zandu Balm had gone up in the recent past since the release of the song. Curious, indeed.

The following day saw a news item which said the pharmaceutical company was understood to have been contemplating to create a new television commercial on the lines of the song. More curious, indeed.

The same day, of all people, adman Prahlad Kakkar was quoted on the website of a newspaper saying, "I always thought Zandu Balm would have paid for advertising, but if even the consent to use the name wasn’t taken, then the film’s producers will now have to pay compensation." No reason given why he was quoted at all.

Some inside news on September 19, "The issue is not as serious as it is being made out to be. They have sent a notice. The company is unlikely to take the matter to court. In fact, they are considering an out of court settlement, and then using the song to promote the product." And Arbaaz Khan said, "Now that our film is a big success, such things are bound to happen. Everyone wants a share of the pie."

Gets better. Out-of-court-settlement talk already.

Some people came out in support of the film producers. Yet, Arbaaz Khan kept insisting that he was yet to receive the notice. No one knows how the notice was being sent. It sure was taking its own good time.

Next day, it came to light that the filmmakers had never approached Emami for using the ‘Zandu Balm’ phrase in the song. When the song’s promos went on air, Emami decided to strike a barter deal—allowing the film’s producers the use of Zandu Balm in return for rights to the song for its own advertisement. Emami was to air a 10-second television commercial within 3-4 days of the film’s September 10 release. This ad was never aired because Dabangg’s producers asked Emami to pay for the rights of the song.

On September 21, came the twist in the curious tale. Everything had been sorted out. Emami would be withdrawing the case. Arbaaz Khan Productions would now get into tie-ups with the balm company. And, Malaika Arora Khan will be the balm's brand ambassador. And it was Kakkar who was instrumental in bringing both parties to a level of mutual understanding. Kakkar would make the new ad too.

So, it was never an issue of freedom of expression, all this while. Not a question of artistic freedom.

They all got their sickening mileage. They gave us their revulsive gimmick.

What a farce indeed.

And the next time a Bollywood film gets stuck with the censors and its producers cry hoarse about artistic freedom, you would know better. Most from this industry haven't an iota of artistic integrity.