Slumdog Hottie To Sign With Estee Lauder
It seems the stars of Slumdog Millionaire are continuing to benefit from the movie’s good fortune. If you remember, the movie was adjudged Best Picture at the Oscar’s last February and it continuous to gain critical success. The most recent good news concerns Freida Pinto and her rumored cosmetics contract with Estee Lauder.
Though there are no confirmations from either the cosmetics company and Pinto’s talent agency, reports say Pinto would be a great spokesperson for the very popular make-up line. Estee Lauder opened its MAC Cosmetics store in Mumbai three years ago and are looking to expand the market in India. Hence, this would look like a really lovely partnership for them.
- The 24-year-old Bollywood-turned-Hollywood star certainly would be a catch for any brand aiming to increase its fortunes in India: she has global awareness and is seen by many as a hometown girl-made-good. In addition to starring in the 2008 surprise hit — which gathered eight Academy Awards on Feb. 22, including Best Picture — Pinto has signed on to Woody Allen’s latest project, an as-yet-untitled film which will also star Naomi Watts.
And the Estee Lauder Cos. is making moves designed to spike its business in the country. According to Euromonitor, India’s total beauty business generated sales of about $4.45 billion in 2007, marking a 47 percent increase over 2002. Last July, the Estée Lauder Cos. acquired a minority stake in Forest Essentials, an ayurvedic manufacturer of skin, body and hair care products, which is based in a suburb of Delhi. In June, the first Estee Lauder brand store opened in India — a 485-square-foot jewel box at the Galleria at Trident in Mumbai. “The timing is right to bring Estee Lauder to India,” John Demsey, an Estee Lauder group president, said at the time, adding that the goal is to “introduce the brand to a whole new generation of women.”
