MAM
Costa Coffee to promote ‘I am’
BANGALORE: Costa Coffee India (Costa) has started promoting the Bolllywood film ‘I am’ in some of the 75 of its select outlets in India. The movie will be released on April 29. A part of the film’s crew – director Onir, actors Juhi Chawla and Sanjay Suri launched Costa’s ‘Ice Cold Costa’ range of 21 beverages to beat the summer heat.
Onir’s directorial ventures includes the film ‘My brother Nikhil’.
The coffee chain plans to double its outlets this year in India revealed company sources, as also to up the number in Bangalore from 15 to 30.
Industry sources say that no money has changed hands for the co-promotion. The coffee chain gains because of the celebrity launch of its new beverage range and the movie gains from the promos at the coffee chain’s cafes’.
“I am is a film that has been partly funded through social media sites like facebook and Twitter. Onir requested people to become co-owners of the film by donating anything from Rs 1,000 upwards,” revealed Suri.
“The below the line costs of the film are around Rs.30 million. We have a profit sharing arrangement with the actors by way of fees,” revealed Onir. “We’ve collected around Rs. 10 million through social media, which was our target, the rest of the funding has been manage by Juhi Chawla. So in effect, the movie has about 400 co-owners,” he added.
“The number of prints will be decided on Tuesday (April 25) next. We have about 110 prints of which around 30 are non-digital for some theaters in India and Australia. We may go up to 150 prints. PVR is doing the distribution for us,” further revealed Onir during a discussion with indiantelevision.com
“‘I am is about issues and dilemmas that bruise the modern Indian society. Unravelling and exploring these tribulations, the film unfolds many a tale of individuals struggling to find their identity, and uphold their dignity in a world that is callous, cold and unsympathetic,” said Suri.
“Shot in four different cities across India, I am is a fusion of stories where the protagonists share a common dream – a desire to regain their lives, to regain an identity which has been taken away from them, “ said Chawla.
The film runs through stories of four people –Aifa, Megha, Abhimanyu and Omar. Besides Chawla and Suri, the star cast of the film includes Manisha Koirala, Nandita Das, Rahul Bose, Purab Kohli, Abhimanyu Singh and Arjun Mathur among others. Suri and Onir are its co-producers and Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta, Sangita Modi, Anish Modi its associate producers.
Brands
Dabur buys minority stake in Ras Beauty for Rs 60 crore
Dabur Ventures deal backs fast-growing luxury skincare brand
MUMBAI: Dabur India Limited has dipped into the world of luxury skincare, signing a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in Ras Beauty Private Limited for Rs 60 crore. The investment marks the first bet from Dabur Ventures, the FMCG major’s Rs 500 crore platform set up in October 2025 to back high-potential, new-age direct-to-consumer brands.
Founded in Raipur by Shubhika Jain, her sister Suramya Jain and their mother Sangeeta Jain, Ras Beauty has grown from a family-led passion project into a fast-scaling “Farm-to-Face” skincare label. Its range of face elixirs, serums and moisturisers blends essential oils with nature-derived actives, striking a balance between botanical purity and laboratory precision.
The numbers tell their own story. Ras has clocked a three-year Cagr of around 75 per cent and an annual run rate of approximately Rs 100 crore, all while maintaining strong gross margins. That growth has been fuelled by a digital-first approach, in-house R&D and manufacturing, and a sharp focus on clean, sustainable sourcing.
Dabur India executive director and group head corporate strategy Abhinav Dhall, said the company was drawn to Ras’s distinct positioning at the intersection of nature, science and luxury. He added that the premium beauty segment is poised for robust expansion over the coming decade, and that Ras is well placed to capture that opportunity.
For Ras, the partnership is as much about scale as it is about shared philosophy. Co-founder and CEO Shubhika Jain said Dabur’s 141-year legacy of building trusted, purpose-led brands makes it a natural ally. The capital infusion, she noted, will help accelerate the brand’s omnichannel footprint, deepen research capabilities and invest in team and brand building, with an eye on establishing Ras as a leading Indian luxury skincare name both domestically and overseas.
With this move, Dabur is not just investing in a skincare label. It is placing an early wager on India’s growing appetite for premium, conscious beauty, and signalling that heritage FMCG players are ready to play in the new-age D2C arena.
