Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

Even if you haven’t watched the latest Bollywood chartbuster Pathaan, or like me, have no intention of watching this Shah Rukh Khan-starrer anytime soon, you couldn’t have missed people raving (or ranting) about the film. And the solid collections it has made. 

In the age of streaming video, a single brand has lifted Bollywood out of its sagging relevance. The movie has grossed Rs 500 crore (US$61 million) in just its first five days. 

I couldn’t help comparing it with tobacco and FMCG giant ITC, because on the day the movie released (25 January), the company unveiled “Mission Millet”—a campaign to mainstream the grain in India and centered around food and nutritional security. 

Coming in a year declared by the United Nations (UN) as the International Year of Millets, it looks like ITC has embarked on a neat brand-building exercise. Millets, the company’s chairman Sanjiv Puri said during the launch, were a “forgotten lot”, receiving “inadequate appreciation”. And the group’s agri, food, and hospitality businesses would now come together to make them a preferred food of choice for the masses.