Recent months marked the 20th anniversary of one of Bollywood’s most iconic comedies, Andaz Apna Apna. “The celebration was not restricted to tweets from fans talking about the film. I was surprised when my son’s friends’ mothers started tweeting to my handle.

   Not just scenes and dialogues but life lessons from the film — it was almost like a virtual party,” shares one of its lead actresses, Raveena Tandon. In case you were wondering, there’s good reason to bring this up in Brand Equity. Tandon is among a host of leading ladies who have transitioned into ambassadors for a vast array of brands. Joining her are contemporaries like Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor and Sonali Bendre.

   Their male counterparts, nearing 50 are still convinced they’ve drunk from the fount of eternal youth. Until recently, they’ve tried to pass off as college students and today compete....