This year saw Bollywood making news for multiple wrong reasons. So, if Sushant Singh Rajput’s death sent shockwaves throughout the country, Hindi films also lost out on tonnes of business with theatres being shut (due to lockdown), and OTT platforms showing their muscle power.

But probably, the biggest shock came when a number of top names, such as Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, and others like comedian Bharti Singh, cropped up in the infamous drug scandal.

And the big question is: will this have any long-term impact on the popularity or brand value of those actors/stars? “Any kind of negative news is bad for an actor because people’s perception (about them) very is important. Brands, too, are extremely particular of that. That’s why such a thing may have some short-term impact but the long-term effect will depend on the final outcome (of the ongoing investigations),” says ad guru Prahlad Kakar.

In fact, in September, a report by Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) had showed that 85% of the respondents said they wouldn’t buy a brand endorsed by a drug-tainted celebrity. “Those people, who are proven to be involved are surely going to see a huge dip in their popularity and brand value, in terms of films, endorsements or anything else,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Interestingly though, a few days back, the IIHB’s TIARA (Trust, Identify, Attractive, Respect and Appeal) report -- that works on the idea of ‘celebrities as human brands’ — saw a string of Bollywood stars dominating various lists of the research. For example, Padukone emerged as the Most Trusted female Bollywood celebrity, while Akshay Kumar was voted the Most Trusted male celeb. “Movie stars will always be huge icons in India,” says filmmaker and ad director, Vinil Mathew.

For Kakar too, the “temporary blip” won’t leave a permanent mark. “People aren’t going to forget and turn away from the industry forever. Also, remember, as they say, ‘public memory is too short’. A few months down the line, actors come up with one or two hits, and everyone will forget everything,” he says.

Adds Adarsh: “Bollywood, due to its sheer reach and popularity, is powerful. So, whatever has happened in 2020 can be seen as a big hiccup.”