MUMBAI: Bollywood yesteryears superstar Rajesh Khanna is making his debut television commercial. Electrical and power distribution equipment manufacturer Havells India Limited unveiled its new ad campaign, ‘Havells Fans are Forever‘, featuring Khanna in the TVC.

Havells is known to portray unique concepts through its out of the box advertising with campaigns like ‘Shock Laga‘ and ‘Wires that don‘t catch fire‘. The latest campaign named ‘Fans are Forever‘ is another extension of this strategy. The TVC has been shot by R Balki.

The commercial makes use of the fact that Khanna attracted
unprecedented mass hysteria and a frenzied fan following in his heydays. It showcases him going down memory lane, remembering how his fans used to follow him everywhere when he was a superstar. However there is a twist at the end of the TVC which goes on to reveal that he certainly does have a lot of fans, but those are Havells fans!

Havells (India) joint managing director Anil Gupta said, "It is a constant endeavour to come out with clutter breaking ad campaigns and create the desired impact so as to reach out to audience at large. As far as Rajesh Khanna is concerned, he was undoubtedly the best fit for our campaign – Fans are Forever. Even after 30 or 40 odd years, people of not only our generation but by the younger generation as well, remember him as one of the biggest stars of his time. He will be revered for ever just like our Havells Fans!"

Balki chairman and chief creative officer Lowe Lintas India said, "This new campaign gave us a great opportunity to capture the essence of the brand with sheer simplicity. When the ad was being conceived, we could think of none other than Rajesh Khanna himself who had the maximum fan following...almost legendary and who still commands a great deal of respect. Needless to say that it was a huge achievement to direct Mr. Khanna in his first ever commercial."

Khanna added, "To be approached after so many years is indeed a great honour for me and I am delighted to reconnect with my fans once again. Shooting after a gap of so many years has definitely brought back fond memories and I feel that not a lot has changed at all. It‘s good to be back."

The commercials will be on air during the ongoing IPL and will also be extended to print, internet and in-shop POSM.