Whatever the Bollywood stars do, become the craze for millions in India! The filmy buffs are so eager to learn and mimic their desired onscreen idols, that they follow their habits, rather blindly. Film star fans copying the dressing style and hairstyle of their favorite actor is nothing new. However, the lifestyle habits of these actors are also keenly watched by millions. It seems the fans of Bollywood actors will soon make a foray into the crypto sector and stuff powered by it. Of late, a number of prominent Bollywood celebs and actors have embraced NFTs, and more are likely to follow suit.
Bollywood gets bitten by the NFT bug!
A majority of the Bollywood actors are tech-savvy. From buying next-gen electric vehicles to owning luxurious gadgets, they have shown their love for digital technology in many ways. Most of them are also quite active in social media and other online forums.
Even as the Indian govt is taking a long time to come out with a well-defined policy for regulating the cryptocurrency sector, crypto investment and adoption are going up in the country. The Bollywood actors do not want to be left behind in the crypto race. While making investments in the emerging sector is something they are not alien to, a number of stars are opting for NFTs. It is evident that the largest entertainment industry in India and its major stakeholders are keen on getting the early movers’ advantage in a nascent sector.
Why Bollywood stars are batting for NFTs
An NFT or Non-fungible token is a unique digital asset representing real-world objects. These may include videos, in-game items, art, music, etc. NFTs can be sold and bought online. Notably, the majority of NFT marketplaces are made around cryptocurrency and related technologies. While the NFTs are exchangeable they are not exactly like crypto coins. One NFT cannot be another’s a replacement in a Blockchain. So, an NFT will have a unique value. So, an artist or celeb can sell a digital item once and then earn commissions for sales afterward.
NFTs have come as a means for Bollywood celebs and actors to enhance fame and income. The Bollywood actors want to use NFTs to boost fan engagement, too. It was in June 2021 that the first-ever NFT marketplace of India was set up. It was unveiled by Binance-owned WazirX. Soon, other contenders followed such as NFTically, CricketCrazy.io, BeyondLife.club, BollyCoin, and Colexion.
The Bollywood actors and celebs to hop on the NFT bandwagon first
So far a section of Bollywood celebs and actors have joined the NFT bandwagon. They are:
- Atul Agnihotri- Actor turned filmmaker Atul Agnihotri set up BollyCoin, which enables the users to mint clips and stills from films, get unseen film footages and social media content and turn these into NFTs. It has got some high profile clients like Reel Life Productions, Sohail Khan Production and Arbaaz Khan Production.
- Suniel Shetty- Actor Suniel Shetty may not be seen in many big banner flicks these days but he is one of the first Celebs in Bollywood to start using NFTs. He is now an advisor and investor of Colexion. It is a NFT marketplace powered by the Polygon network. It is somewhat like BollyCoin but covers sports sector too.
- Amitabh Bachchan- Iconic Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is quite tech savvy and he is one of the early adopters of NFTs in India. He has signed up for the NFT marketplace BeyondLife.club. As per the news, his NFT collection will be unveiled soon. You can expect many unseen or little known memorabilia from the movies of Big B to go up for sales in form of NFTs, soon! BeyondLife.club is powered by entities like Rhiti Entertainment and GuardianLink.io.
- Vishal Malhotra- This popular TV host and actor has joined hands with artist Ishita Banerjee to launch a NFT. He became the first ever Indian artist to launch a NFT. The NFT, an art depicting his 25 yearlong journey in Bollywood was sold for 2.5 ETH.
- Sunny Leone- The porn star turned Bollywood actor never ceases to make headlines, as it is. Sunny Leone also has aspirations to join the NFT bandwagon. The actor has joined hands with Mintdropz, a Silicon Valley- start-up for developing a website to sell her NFTs.
- Salman Khan- The wild-child of Bollywood, Salman Khan makes headlines as much for his films as for his off-screen activities. He has become one of the early adopters of NFT in Bollywood, following the footsteps of Big B. He is the brand ambassador of $Gari, an indigenous cryptocurrency made by Chingari. It is also launching its NFT marketplace. Meanwhile, Salman Khan has received a great response to his newly launched NFT collection. Earlier he announced on Twitter his desire to enter the fast-growing NFT space in India.
What the crypto experts think on the issue
Following the examples of film stars like Amitabh Bachchan, many directors, actors, and musicians involved with Bollywood are gearing up to join the NFT bandwagon. The crypto sector veterans do not think that celebrities entering the space will boost sales volumes drastically. However, it will definitely help in making the market mature and draw the attention of high-profile investors.
