CHENNAI: Akshay Kumar slowly reaches for the first two buttons on his shirt and opens it wide for everyone to see. Breathe, it’s just the Bigboss Dollar baniyan that he was wearing. The Dollar Industries held a press conference in the city on Tuesday and their brand ambassador Akshay was in the limelight. Not only for the obvious, but because he plays a significant role in Dollar’s growth in the past six years.
“Ever since we have signed Akshay Kumar in 2010 as the brand ambassador of Dollar Bigboss, the growth has been exemplary. We have more than doubled our turnover in these six years, from `396 crore to `829.94 crore. He is our brand’s lucky mascot,” says Vinod Kumar Gupta, managing director, Dollar Industries.
After unveiling the six-year partnership logo with Akshay, he adds, “We will be increasing our presence across India with special emphasis on South India.”
Apart from Enthiran 2.0, this was Akshay’s first press conference in namma city. The new Dollar ad, which received a great response in the social media, was played in Tamil after which Akshay requested it to be played in Hindi though people in the audience asked him to voice-over the dialogues in Hindi.
After watching him knock out the bad guy without physically touching him, a barrage of fitness talk spurred in the hall at ITC Grand Chola. Asking him for some fitness tips, Akshay happily shares, “Have your dinner before sunset and nothing after that. Work out an hour a day. If you can’t give your body one hour in 24, kill yourself.”
Wow, awkward. Interestingly, he lets out a message to Rajinikanth. “If he doesn’t wear Dollar baniyan, well, he better start wearing it,” grins Akshay. Bidding adieu, he rushes off before anyone could catch him for quick questions or selfies.