Cracker makers to cash in on current & trendy

This was a trendy and timely story I got, exactly after one month of the twin tower attack in 2001, in which terrorist used planes loaded with innocent people ramming them onto the twin towers, to raze it to dust. The cracker industry in Tamil Nadu raked in all kind of images on the covers to ensure that their product hits with a big bang. And sell they did but on the images of a sordid happening to mankind by some forces which keeps denying the authority of freedom to live for all humanity.

Like every year, for this Diwali too cracker manufactures have put up various motifs- current and catchy – on their product covers to woo customers.
So expect the images of 9/11 terrorist strikes and the crumbling twin towers as well as cracker bombs going by names like ‘4 Bangs’ to symbolize the four attacks in the US.
And that’s not all. Names from even Hollywood films seem to have caught the imagination of the cracker makers this year. Titles of such Hollywood block busters as ‘Anaconda’ (after the giant South American snake) and ‘Jungle Book’ for tiny-tots are also to be found on the color schemes of some cracker covers.
However, the pride of place must surely go to such Bollywood hits such as ‘Suryavanshi’, ‘Tridev’ and ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’ that have had their names modified in some cases. Then, there’s a scary angle as well with Khooni-Raat covers.
The cola wars also get a mention in a bid to up the cracker sales. The catchy one-liner “Yeh Dil Maange More” appears on some cracker wrappers, apparently to catch them young. Paan could well be a down market, but the ‘Paan Bomb’ may not be targeting just that customer segment.
Faces of doe-eyed and raven-haired Bollywood beauties like Kajol have been liberally used on cracker covers earlier as well. They retain their place this time too.
Since the Sivakasi connection dominates the cracker industry, Tamil starlet Roja appears on some sparkler packets. Other faces are of youth icons like Sharukh Khan, Salman Khan and Amir Khan.
The cracker makers of the sulphur city of Sivakasi have tried their best to make a strong sales pitch using everything that is current and happening. Some sharp acumen appears to have gone into selecting the titles, stars and starlets for the North Indian region.
Down South, the same set of covers have dusky South Indian heroines and macho action heroes enticing the buyers.