Salman Khan’s NGO Being Human to Launch Stores By Feb 2012

Actor Salman Khan's NGO, Being Human, will have exclusive stores and shop-in-shops selling a range of merchandise from February, starting with a signature clothing line. Deals are in place for stores abroad, and a national roll out is on the agenda, according to Ms Kim Saldanha, Vice-President – Marketing, Customer Centria, the agency mandated to build the brand “Being Human.”


The launch of stores will be accompanied by the official Web site beinghumanonline.com exclusively selling the merchandise. Currently, T-shirts under the label are sold through bookmyshow.com, and watches through another partner via beinghumanwatches.com.

Offline, T-shirts are currently sold through Cotton World outlets, but that will cease once the Being Human stores are in business. Since December 2010, Cotton World has sold around 65,000 Being Human T-shirts. Rotomac has launched a “Being Human” line of pens, ranging between Rs 20 and Rs 120. A collection of accessories is to be launched under the label after the stores are operational.

Speaking to Business Line, Ms Saldanha said, “Being Human is a lifestyle brand – unlike other NGOs, the pitch here is not to ask for donations, but a part of each purchase goes to a worthy cause supporting the underprivileged. Right now, it exists as different brands to different people, more so because it is promoted by a celebrity; a campaign to define the brand – ‘Join hands, change life' will be launched in the next few days.”

The online campaign will lead up to the launch of the exclusive stores and clothing line. An extensive outdoor campaign is also being planned, and will feature – who else – Salman Khan. Mandana Exports, which owns the rights to the clothing merchandise, will handle the retail presence, expansion and promotion, with Customer Centria responsible for customer engagement and loyalty, said Ms Saldanha.

“We started with tacking the issue of piracy of Being Human merchandise. The intent is to leverage the huge fan base of Salman Khan – and of Being Human (online) - for the benefit of Being Human, maintaining the line between Bollywood and Being Human,” she added.

The fight against “unofficial” Web sites championing Being Human is going on. Being Human has over 7.5 lakh fans on Facebook, several of whom have been wooed from such sites and Facebook pages initiated by fans of the NGO's promoter.

Salman Khan Helps Out Bandra Fire Victims Through Being Human

Though he wasn’t in Mumbai at the time, Salman Khan swung into action as soon as he heard about the destruction caused by the Bandra blaze.

Through his Being Human foundation, he arranged for the distribution of food packets and clothing to around 1,500 people who lost their homes.

Says a source, “ Salman wasted no time in rushing relief. He was extremely concerned about what had happened. As soon as he realised the magnitude of the loss, he told his volunteers to get going.” Adds the source, “ He was not keen to publicise that the aid was from Salman Khan.

Several of the blaze hit, however, only later realised that it was from the star! They couldn’t help thanking him then.” Adds the source, “ Bhai does not want to talk about it. But those close to him know how he coordinated the relief measures within hours of the tragedy. He was even more concerned as it happened in Bandra — a place where he resides.” The star, who’s has been shooting in Thailand for Ready, had flown into Vizag over the weekend for the Celebrity Cricket League curtain raiser event. After which he was back in Bangkok. But he kept in touch with the volunteers about the relief measures.

PAST GOOD WORK

>> In July 2010, Salman Khan had organised a three- day eyecare camp in Jaffna and Vuvuniya in war- torn eastern Sri Lanka. Five eye surgeons were flown in from India with 1,000 pairs of lenses, aftercare medication and equipment required for surgery.

>> In April 2010 during the shooting of Dabangg in Wai, Maharashtra, Salman called a doctor from Mumbai and asked him to attend to the aged on the verge of losing their eyesight. He personally supervised the entire operation and made sure they got proper post- treatment care. Those with cataract were taken to Pune for operation.

>> Around the same time he distributed 100 cycles to students from a school in Wai that consisted of poor students from neighbouring villages.

BANDRA BLAZE

A major blaze engulfed the Garib Nagar slums adjoining the Bandra railway station ( east) on Friday night. Though there were no human casualties, the fire has rendered over 1,500 families, including Slumdog Millionaire child actor Rubina and her family, homeless.