Brands line up on the highway to the South

Baahubali 2, VIP 2 draw big national brands into their lair, run up hefty marketing budgets

In a few weeks, Baahubali 2, the sequel to the hugely popular mythological-historical fiction film will hit the screens in India and the US. It already has 15 brands in the bag, companies such as Nestle, Britannia among others that have a national and global footprint have all come on board. Another movie, VIP 2 that stars Dhanush and Kajol has also got the big brands on its rolls as did Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali that was released last year; as movies made in the South break out of the local mould in terms of storylines and star casts, big brands are