KSDL brand ambassador row: Deepika Padukone was beyond budget, says minister

Industries Minister M B Patil said on Friday that Bollywood A-lister Deepika Padukone was beyond the state government’s budget, defending the decision to rope in multilingual star Tamannaah Bhatia as brand ambassador of the Mysore Sandal Soap.

Patil told reporters here that his department considered actors Rashmika Mandanna, Sreeleela, Pooja Hegde and Kiara Advani.

“All of them were busy endorsing other brands. Deepika Padukone was not available for our budget. Plus, she has her own brand,” the minister said.

The minister also said that Tamannaah Bhatia has 2.8 crore followers on her social media account and was ready for a two-year lock-in period agreement with the company.

“Considering all these, we had to go for an actress with pan-India fame to make the product pan-India. It is not that we have not approached Kannada-based actresses,” Patil claimed. 

‘Hollywood actress’

Patil even said that the KSDL may look for a Hollywood actress as a brand ambassador to establish its market in European countries. “Instead of making controversy out of such decisions, we should wish the company to grow,” he added.

Hiring Tamannaah Bhatia as brand ambassador for Mysore Sandal products by Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KSDL) by paying her Rs 6.20 crore led to a controversy on Thursday.

Even on Friday, some pro-Kannada activists staged a protest in front of the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL) office, demanding to withdraw the decision and rope in a sandalwood actor.

Patil said, “In the financial year 2024-25, the products of KSDL have shown 15% growth and got the number one place in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) categoary. The sales of Mysore Sandal soaps is 18% in the state and 82% outside Karnataka. Our aim is to reach a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore by 2028.”

The minister said they have an idea of establishing a KSDL manufacturing unit in Vijayapura soon.