In total, Star is targeting a wide range of around 70 products for which it has tied up with leading companies to address the growing prospects that children's film merchandise can offer in India.

The company is looking to take the property to the masses. "This is a unique property that has been represented in both smaller stores and large format stores interested in stocking the range. Our licensing and retail partners see this as a property that will appeal to people across classes," says D'Sa.

Star is even looking to attract older audiences towards their merchandising activities, "Baby Ganesha has a great connect across all demographics. We will evaluate the possibility of doing a range for adults," says D'Sa.

But given the high levels of piracy among the unorganized and scattered players, won't the success of the film may give way to a bulk of duplicate merchandise floating in the market?

Says D'Sa, "Baby Ganesha is a registered copyright in the manner in which the character Ganesha is depicted. Given the special nature of the property, the focus of our partners is on making sure that the character is used in not just an appropriate manner but in a way that brings alive the specialness of the property."

Releasing today in theatres across India, My Friend Ganesha promises to bring alive Baby Ganesha in an interesting and innovative manner. Star is hoping that the success of the movie would spillover from the box office to the merchandising arena as well.