Birla Opus Paints brings Sreeleela onboard as brand face

MUMBAI: Fresh coats, familiar echoes. Birla Opus Paints, the paints business from the Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim Industries, has signed actor Sreeleela as the new face of the brand as it sharpens its push to become the “Naye Zamane Ka Naya Paint” for a younger, aspiration-led India. The move comes as the relatively new entrant in India’s fiercely competitive paints market continues building cultural recall through its ongoing “Main Bhi…” campaign, a communication platform that leans heavily on everyday relatability rather than traditional hard-sell advertising.

And if the latest campaign films are anything to go by, Birla Opus is betting that trust spreads faster when ordinary consumers become unofficial brand ambassadors.

The two new films, featuring Sreeleela alongside veteran actors Lillete Dubey and Sheeba Chaddha, unfold in crowded public spaces, a bustling shopping mall and a packed metro station where product praise snowballs from one person to another in classic domino-effect fashion.

One mention quickly becomes a chorus of “Main bhi…”, turning casual conversations into public endorsements.

The campaign spotlights key product claims including 99 per cent-plus stain protection and scratch-proof wood finishes, but wraps them inside humour, observational storytelling and exaggerated social momentum rather than conventional demonstration-heavy advertising.

Instead of polished perfection, the films rely on recognisable chaos noisy public places, unsolicited recommendations and the uniquely Indian habit of everyone joining a conversation halfway through.

That approach reflects a larger shift underway in consumer marketing, where credibility increasingly comes not from celebrity glamour alone, but from how naturally a brand fits into everyday life.

Sreeleela’s addition appears designed precisely for that balancing act.

With a rapidly growing fan base and strong appeal among younger audiences across markets, the actor brings both visibility and relatability to the brand’s expanding positioning strategy.

Commenting on the partnership Birla Opus Paints head of marketing Inderpreet Singh said the association aligned naturally with the company’s attempt to build a modern, culturally resonant paint brand.

“As we continue to scale the ‘Main Bhi…’ thought, our focus remains on showcasing product performance in a way that feels real and rooted in everyday experiences,” he said.

Sreeleela, meanwhile, described the brand as “simple and real”, adding that she was excited to become part of Birla Opus’ effort to “add beauty in people’s lives”.

Behind the humour and metro banter, however, sits a much larger ambition.

India’s paints sector has become one of the country’s most aggressively contested consumer categories, with legacy giants and new challengers all fighting for relevance in a market increasingly driven by premiumisation, design-conscious homeowners and social-media-influenced buying behaviour.

For Birla Opus, the strategy seems clear: don’t just paint walls paint conversations.

And if the campaign’s endless chain of “Main bhi…” is any indication, the brand is hoping word-of-mouth becomes its brightest shade yet.