Quirk, cordiality and king-sized class: A look at India's Maharaja of mascots

It was like a Bollywood film climax when Ratan Tata tweeted on Friday “Welcome back, Air India” soon after the government of India’s announcement that the Tata Group won the bid to purchase national carrier Air India. 

Welcome back, Air India ?? pic.twitter.com/euIREDIzkV

— Ratan N. Tata (@RNTata2000) October 8, 2021

Started as “Tata Airlines” on October 15, 1932, by Ratan Tata’s forefather Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (JRD) Tata, the company was renamed “Air India” in 1946 after becoming a public entity. 

It was nationalised in 1953 but JRD Tata remained Air India’s chairman for over 25 years until the Morarji Desai government removed him after the Dubai-bound ‘Emperor Ashoka’ flight crashed into the Arabian Sea on January 1, 1978, killing all 213 people on board. 

In 1980, when Indira Gandhi came back to power, she re-appointed JRD on the board, though not as chairman. JRD continued to serve on the boards till 1986, the year in which Ratan Tata was appointed as the chairman of Air India.

Nevertheless, the airline has come back to the founders once again after 68 years. 

How was the ‘Maharaja’ born?

Air India’s mascot “Maharaja” with a round face, an outsized moustache, a quintessential striped Indian turban and folded hands, has held a special place in the hearts of Indians for years. It exudes hospitality with graciousness and humility. 

Maharaja was born in 1946 when Sorab Kaikushroo (Bobby) Kooka as Air India's Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, an artist with J.Walter Thompson in Mumbai, together created this mascot for an inflight memo pad, as per the Air India website. 

Back then, India was known as the “Land of the Maharajas'' and Air India was its only international carrier. The mascot truly symbolised graciousness and elegant living.

“We can call him the Maharaja for want of a better description. But his blood isn’t blue. He may look like royalty, but he isn’t royal,” said Mr Kooka, describing his iconic creation, informs Air India website. 

When Maharaja stormed the ad world

Air India adopted an aggressive approach when it came to advertising and marketing. India’s struggle for freedom was at its peak at that time but there was no dearth of fliers. Tata eyed newspaper advertising and radio as viable options to reach out to the Indians. 

An advertisement in The Hindu newspaper published in 1946 displays the flight cost between Rs 65-135 for various destinations in India. 

A 1947 ad “A Time Factor” talked about how a flight to Delhi would cost Rs 140 if fliers wanted to participate in the festivities at the time of India’s Independence.

The compact advertisements were used to convey all information such as the flights from all major cities to Delhi, discounts on fares, and offers in a simple but bold manner. 

Across the world in quirky posters

In later years, Air India started flights across the world and its posters depicting Maharaja in quirky and witty avatars turned out to be a great advertising strategy. 

In colourful posters, Maharaja was seen as a lover boy in Paris, a sumo wrestler in Tokyo, a musician in Rome, a bikini girl in Sydney, a street artist in Paris, a trekker in Switzerland and a husband at home. These posters struck a chord with prospective Indian tourists. 

Actors like Zeenat Aman and Bill Fox were also featured in Air India ads in magazines and newspapers.

By the 1970s Air India had 10,000 employees in 54 countries.

Nargis Wadia, a graphic designer who joined Air India in the 1950s, worked closely with Kooka and Art Director Cawasji to design cheeky posters advertising international flights.

TV Commercials

In the eighties, when the televisions started reaching upper-middle-class households, Air India realised the power of TV and rolled out advertisements. 

Its TV commercial in the nineties grabbed eyeballs as it projected Air India’s international in-flight comfort and services to customers around the world in a unique way .

The TVC said, “Long flights can become a pretty boring business, which probably explains why flying an Air India 747 to New York isn’t half as crazy as it sounds”. 

The Maharaja won numerous national and international awards for Air India for originality in advertising and publicity. 

During the eighties, the mascot triggered a controversy with politicians questioning whether such a symbol should represent a nation with socialist aspirations. As a result, Air India did away with the Maharaja in 1989. But there was such a hue and cry from various quarters that the popular mascot had to be brought back. 

Even the Narendra Modi government reportedly toyed with the idea to replace the mascot with a common man.

With the latest development, the ad world stalwarts like Piyush Pandey believe that Tata and Maharaja can create the same magic once again. 

Here are some iconic posters that show the Maharaja in his quirky avatars: