MAM
‘Confident of achieving target of over 100% growth with our IPL campaign’: Fantasy Akhada’s Sumit Jha
Mumbai: India is today the world’s biggest fantasy sports market with a user base of over 13 crore, according to a report by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) in collaboration with Deloitte. And with the Indian Premier League (IPL) on in full swing, fantasy sports stakeholders are wagering on the popular T20 league to multiply their user bases during this cricketing season.
Amid the fervour in the lead up to the 15th edition of the cricket tournament, Fantasy Akhada – one of the players in the fantasy sports arena rolled out a 360-degree campaign #KhelTumharaAkhadaHumara starring Harsha Bhogle and actor Ali Fazal. The campaign, since its teaser launch on 24 March on Instagram has seen the brand unveiling three short films at regular intervals keeping the narrative going and the audience hooked.
The brand is all set to launch the finale in the series which has managed to rake in tremendous interest among fans.
Shedding more light on their marketing campaign, Fantasy Akhada’s founder Sumit Jha tells IndianTelevision.com, “The idea was simple – in the extremely cluttered fantasy sports space, we wished to stand out and position ourselves as the ultimate platform for fantasy sports users across the country.”
Conceptualised by Pippip Media and executed in tandem with Wirality Media, the first film of the campaign showcases the apparent abduction of cricket presenter Harsha Bhogle by a desperate cricket fanatic, played by Ali Fazal, in his attempt to emerge victor in his local gaming community. The subsequent two films have kept the narrative going, igniting vewers’ curiosity and building up buzz, aided in part by the fresh, dynamic combo of Bhogle and Fazal and their crackling chemistry onscreen.
Harsha Bhogle is a familiar face in our living rooms through his engaging cricket commentary. Audiences are used to seeing his on-screen representation in the commentary box or television studio, imparting words of wisdom on the game’s nuances in all seriousness. But that’s about it. So, how was it getting Bhogle to act, given the hilarious setup of his ‘apharan’ by a goon wanting gyan on the game, we want to know.
“Given the vast experience that Bhogle has in front of the camera doing live telecasts, the ease with which he pulled off this was expected. Also having someone like Ali Fazal, who is not only a great actor but a big fan of Harsha, really helped making the entire shoot a great and enjoyable experience for all involved,” Jha answers.
ALSO SEE | Ali Fazal & goons abduct Harsha Bhogle in Fantasy Akhada’s new IPL campaign
The films have Bhogle in his trademark ‘suit-boot’ urbanised avatar while Fazal brings in the rustic flavour, playing the local bully. “We tried to integrate the urban and rural populace (users) and bring them to a common platform,” Jha explains the reasoning behind the campaign. “As per the Deloitte-FIFS report published in March, 50 per cent of the users in the Fantasy Sports industry come from tier 2 and 3 cities.”
The brand’s core TG is the Indian male population aged 18-35 with a strong representation from states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, among others, says Jha. “The brand’s IPL association had a two-fold approach: primarily to target the current audience who enjoys daily fantasy sports; and secondly to target the larger TG for brand awareness and to introduce them to the concept of skill-based real money gaming.”
“The idea was to focus on the build-up and the IPL broadcast during Phase one of the campaign. We were certain that with the presence of two extremely popular faces in the commercials, the TVC would have a strong organic reach.” He further adds, “And the initial reactions make us more confident to achieve our target of more than 100 per cent growth in terms of revenue/ users on the back of this IPL.”
The brand has already released three ad films of the campaign on TV and digital, and have plans to bring the series to an end with the fourth ad going live on digital platforms. “We have a strong plan that includes influencer marketing to sustain the impact of these creatives over a longer duration of the league,” signs off Jha.
For the unversed, Fantasy Sports are online prediction games where one puts together a virtual team of real sports players, and earn points based on real life statistics. The better your player or team performs in real life, the higher your fantasy points.
What’s the hype about, you ask? Take a look at these numbers. India’s fantasy sports market is projected to grow from Rs 34,600 crore in FY21 to an estimated Rs 1,65,000 crore by FY25, clocking a CAGR of 38 per cent, as per the Deloitte report.
The total revenue attributable to the fantasy sports industry is Rs 10,700 crore, including Rs 5,500 crore indirect revenue in FY21 through its vendors and service providers, the Deloitte report estimates.
Its not a surprise that in a cricket-crazed country like ours, the sport remains the dominant force on fantasy sports platforms (FSP). And with the IPL being one of the biggest cricketing properties in the country and also the biggest generator of revenue, it is hardly surprising fantasy sport operators want a share of the IPL pie. Consider this, IPL contributed over 20 lakh users to the addition of users in the fantasy sports space, in just the first phase of the league’s 2021 edition.
Brands
Yes Madam taps Rajpal Yadav’s Chota Don nostalgia to power new digital campaign
Home salon platform ropes in Tanya Mittal as it bets on humour and pop culture to showcase trust and convenience
NOIDA: India’s fast-growing home salon platform Yes Madam is leaning on nostalgia and a dose of comic chaos to pitch its services. The brand has launched a new digital campaign starring Rajpal Yadav and influencer Tanya Mittal, reviving Yadav’s much-loved Chota Don character to underline the reliability of at-home beauty services.
The campaign marks Yes Madam’s first collaboration with Rajpal Yadav and revisits the quirky Chota Don persona made famous in the 2007 film Partner. Produced with Footloose Films, the film blends slapstick humour with a nostalgic callback to spotlight the platform’s promise of dependable, quality services delivered at home.
The storyline plays out like a miniature action comedy. Tanya Mittal finds herself surrounded by goons and calls for help, only for Rajpal Yadav to appear in full Chota Don mode, dispatching the attackers in his trademark comic style as Mittal cheers him on. The drama then flips abruptly to a calmer scene, with Mittal relaxing at home while enjoying a Yes Madam service and insisting the heroic episode really happened, even as posters of Chota Don decorate her house. The film ends with Yadav’s voiceover declaring that the incident may or may not have happened, but the trust and quality of Yes Madam’s services certainly have.
The collaboration also follows a broader show of support for Rajpal Yadav within the industry. In the growing wave of backing for the veteran actor, Mayank Arya, co-founder and chief executive of Yes Madam, publicly supported actor-producer Sonu Sood’s call for concrete help from the film industry and corporate brands. Arya took to the social media platform X urging companies to move beyond expressions of sympathy and instead offer tangible opportunities to the actor amid his ongoing legal and financial challenges.
He wrote, “Seconded @SonuSood. Even brands should come forward to help the great talent. @Rajpalofficial will also be a part of an ad film @_yesmadam! Have already aligned the team on it. #ComeBackStronger.”
Seconded @SonuSood. Even brands should come forward to help the the great talent.@Rajpalofficial will also be a part of an ad film @_yesmadam !
Have already aligned the team on it.#ComeBackStronger https://t.co/Q7qpJttLTs— Mayank Arya (@iammayankarya) February 11, 2026
Rajpal Yadav recently surrendered at Tihar Jail after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea seeking additional time to repay dues in a long-running cheque-bounce case. The actor had been accused in the case in 2018 after he was unable to repay a loan taken for a film project that failed at the box office. The court later ordered him to surrender after the dues remained unpaid.
The situation triggered a wave of support from several high-profile figures. Sonu Sood emerged as one of the most prominent voices, expressing solidarity and promising Yadav a role in his next film. Sood emphasised that industry support should be about dignity and real job opportunities rather than charity. Celebrities including Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Gurmeet Choudhary and Guru Randhawa have also publicly extended financial and professional support.
Before surrendering, Rajpal Yadav shared an emotional statement in which he spoke about feeling alone and unsupported, a remark that struck a chord with many in the industry. However, his brother later clarified that the actor would never have intended to suggest that he lacked support from colleagues or well-wishers.
Reflecting on the campaign, Mayank Arya said the film was designed to entertain while strengthening the brand’s message. “At Yes Madam, we have always believed in creating campaigns that connect with audiences in an engaging and memorable way. I had earlier spoken about the importance of extending meaningful opportunities to Rajpal Yadav, and we are glad to be the first brand to take that step forward with this collaboration. Through this film, we wanted to create a compelling narrative while also reinforcing the trust and reliability that customers associate with Yes Madam’s services,” Arya said.
Akanksha Vishnoi, co-founder, said the campaign leans on nostalgia to strike a chord with digital audiences. “Consumers today engage deeply with content that blends entertainment with relatability. With this campaign, we wanted to revisit a nostalgic moment while subtly reinforcing the convenience and reliability of at-home services. Rajpal Yadav’s Chota Don is an iconic character that instantly evokes nostalgia and humour, making it the perfect fit for this campaign. Tanya Mittal’s presence added a vibrant energy and helped us bring the vision of the campaign to life,” Vishnoi said.
Founded in 2016, Yes Madam offers salon and spa services at home through trained professionals using hygienic, single-use product formats. The platform now operates in more than 55 cities across India, pitching convenience, transparency and quality to a growing base of urban consumers.
The new campaign, rolling out across social media and video platforms, makes its pitch with a wink. The Chota Don rescue might be fiction, but the promise of a salon at your doorstep, the brand suggests, is the real deal.
