Barrage of film promotions doesn’t guarantee a hit, says Bollywood

Film releases are no longer a regular Friday affair. They are now extravagant events where filmmakers go out of their way to create the right buzz with a barrage of promotions. Poster launch, teaser launch, song launch, trailer launch, city tours, mall visits, college visits and more have become a part of the prolonged promotional affairs. Add to it, the tendency of Bollywood to go king-size, which now, has stars and film-makers admit that promotions are tiring them out.

“I enjoy the process of film-making and acting, and then around a film’s release, probably giving a couple of interviews but this whole constant bombardment of promotions is not my thing. I honestly feel that your theatrical trailer and promos do a lot of talking,” Kareena Kapoor Khan told us recently, while promoting Veere Di Wedding.

Taapsee Pannu, who did rounds of promotions for, Judwaa 2 (2017), agrees that it does get “tiring and exhausting” travelling at weird hours. “And then, you’ve to answer the same question with equal enthusiasm each time. I enjoy it to an extent as it shows the audience’s excitement for our film. But we’ve gone overboard with certain things like an event for every song or promo release,” says the actor, adding, “The trailer ultimately decides the audience’s excitement. Maybe songs can do the trick too. Beyond that, no promotional stunt can get audience’s attention unless it’s extremely controversial.”

Besides the star cast, promotions get equally intense for directors and producers too. Film-maker Remo D’Souza, who is busy promoting his upcoming film, Race 3, shares the same sentiment and says, “Do we have to do all this, so much? Why can’t we just make a film and release it and let people come and watch? It has become this extensive because of social media, which has drastically changed promotional tactics. But if given a chance, I’d happily skip this process.”

He insists, “No city tour can guarantee you a ticket and you can’t convince the audience to walk into a theatre. It’s your first promo or trailer that works.”

Industry experts agree that promotions can only help in creating awareness but can’t ensure footfall in theatres. Rahul Mittra, who has produced the Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster franchise and Bullett Raja (2013), states, “City promotions, going to malls and colleges or travelling in trains, is a big farce. No matter how much you do it along with screenings and junkets, it’s the content and word of mouth that matter in the end. You can only con people into coming to theatres by the strength of your creative — poster and trailer, but you can’t largely influence what they feel about the film. Also, when someone has met their favourite stars, there’s little chance that the person would go to the cinema hall to watch them again on the big screen.”

Cinema expert Omar Qureshi puts it in perspective. “Film promotions are now a set format that everyone follows robotically. Not many enjoy it, except, maybe the bigger stars. But no one can totally abandon the process that generates awareness and coverage,” he says.

Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal