Kerala is deepening its reliance on film celebrity to drive public awareness, with three of the state's biggest stars — Mammootty, Prithviraj, and Kunchacko Boban — now formally appointed as brand ambassadors or campaign faces for different government departments. The announcements, made in Thiruvananthapuram in early November 2026, mark the most concentrated deployment of star power in Kerala's public communication strategy in recent memory.

Forest Department Adds Star Power

Forest Minister Shibu Baby John announced the appointment of Prithviraj and Kunchacko Boban as brand ambassadors of the Kerala Forest Department. The two actors are expected to carry the message of forest and wildlife conservation across television, digital platforms, and fan networks. The pairing brings together two widely recognised faces from Malayalam cinema in service of environmental outreach.

Mammootty's Dual Public Roles

Superstar Mammootty has simultaneously taken on two distinct public responsibilities. He is being roped in as brand ambassador of the Kerala Road Safety Authority, where his messaging is expected to focus on safer driving behaviour and helmet compliance. Separately, Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala recently named Mammootty as the state's Cyber Security Captain under the CLICK initiative, a programme aimed at raising awareness about online safety and responsible internet use.

Why Stars, Why Now

The rationale is straightforward: film stars command a reach that conventional government advertising campaigns routinely struggle to match. In Kerala — a state with a deeply cinema-literate public — a familiar face asking viewers to wear a helmet, drive responsibly, stay alert to cyber threats, or protect forest ecosystems carries a credibility and memorability that institutional messaging often lacks. Their content travels faster through social media and fan networks, amplifying the state's investment beyond paid media.

Notably, this is not an entirely new idea; governments across India have long used celebrity advocates for public health, sanitation, and social campaigns. What distinguishes Kerala's current approach is the breadth and simultaneity — multiple departments moving together to cover road safety, cybersecurity, and conservation under one expanding star umbrella.

What to Watch

Whether ambassador appointments translate into measurable behavioural change — fewer road fatalities, reduced cyber fraud losses, or improved forest protection outcomes — remains an open question. Critics of such strategies have previously argued that celebrity association boosts short-term recall but does not necessarily drive lasting behaviour shifts without complementary enforcement and infrastructure. Kerala's government departments will need to pair the star appeal with on-ground action if the campaigns are to show concrete results.