~ Marico’s first Bihar-only Nihar film turns a mother-daughter kaala teeka into ‘Poshan Bhare Khil-Khilate, Nikhre-Saware Baal’ ~
Mumbai, September 2026: Marico has rolled out Nihar Naturals’ first campaign built specially for Bihar — ‘Kaala Teeka’ — leaning on the state’s ritual of a protective black mark as a shorthand for motherly care. The brand, which claims the No. 1 hair oil slot in Bihar (Nielsen Retail Audit, MAT June’26), is pitching coconut-and-methi nourishment with a sharper local beauty line: ‘Poshan Bhare Khil-Khilate, Nikhre-Saware Baal.’
Consumer work across Bihar surfaced a familiar tug: mothers still oil for nourishment and protection, while daughters want hair that looks free-flowing and beautiful without feeling weighed down. The film, by MYO, plays that gap light — care that mothers trust meeting the look daughters want — and will run in Hindi and Bhojpuri across traditional and digital, with Bihar creators amplifying the idea.
Vikram Karwal, Chief Marketing Officer, Marico Limited, said Bihar is “one of Nihar Naturals’ most important markets,” and that ‘Kaala Teeka’ reinterprets a cherished local tradition “through the lens of modern hair beauty.” Deepa Geethakrishnan, Founder, MYO, framed the mother as someone who “embraces her daughter’s desire to look beautiful and empowers her to express it with confidence.” Creative credits include Deepa Geethakrishnan and Ankush Pandey; strategy, Shalini Degan and Deepa Geethakrishnan.
Marketing take: National hair-oil ads often flatten India into one mother. Nihar wrote a Bihar dialect for beauty — and made the state’s own ritual the brand cue.
