Akshay off to Malaysia to shoot costliest commercial ever

By Joginder Tuteja, January 2, 2010 - 11:03 IST

Akshay Kumar and big bucks are synonymous with each other. After (supposedly) working in the costliest film ever made on this side of the planet - Blue - Akshay is now carrying on the BIG phenomenon into the ad world as well. If industry buzz is to be believed, he would now be featuring in the costliest commercial ever made with an Indian actor. This would be for Thums Up (the soft drink for which Akshay is a brand ambassador for quite a few years now) and as is the tradition, it would be shot in foreign locales.

Says a source from the team which is busy putting together this commercial. "Pick up any commercial for Thums Up that Akshay has done and you would see him indulging in some dare devil stunts. This has been the trend for the last half a decade or so, ever since Akshay was been promoting this brand. This year it's going to be no different as the commercial would feature Akshay being a part of some breath taking stunts."

While fast cars, skyscraper jumping and running on busy roads is something that audiences have seen of Akshay in the last few commercials that he has shot for the brand, one waits to see what the actor has to offer in the first shoot that he is doing in 2010.

"It would be something that has never been seen before; that's the least which can be promised", confirms the source, "Thums Up has been the Number One soft drink in India in 2009 and has beaten other Colas in the race. It is imperative that there is further brand promotion done which would not just help it retain the position but also outrun the competition."

As per sources, the commercial which would be shot in Malaysia boasts of some unheard of money involved. Industry is pegging it at 2 crores though official confirmation is yet to come by.

"It is the costliest ever commercial for sure but I am not at authority to give you the final number", the source says, "However, it is quite close to the figure that you mention. The commercial would be worth every rupee that has been kept aside for it's shoot."

Last few weeks were spent in some active planning around the shoot which involved taking relevant permissions, especially due to some dangerous stunts being involved. With locations in place and entire crew ready on standby, the commercial is all set to be shot in the coming week.