Sunday, December 1, 2013

From Dhoom:3 to Krrish 3: marketing madness in Bollywood

Hindustan Times

The beauty and the perfectionist: Katrina and Aamir launch celebrity dolls.
It’s a comic... it’s a doll... oh wait, it’s a movie. 

No matter how average the movie is, the smartest of film marketing gurus seem to be on a like-never-before rampage to outdo each other when it comes to inventing  strategies to create buzz. 

We’ve been through over-the-top antics, from skiing into a press meet on a yacht (Akshay Kumar for Boss) to Vidya Balan overdoing her character act. 

Now, Saif Ali Khan has just released a graphic novel called The Legend of Bullett Raja. 

Clever merchandise

From toys to jewellery — every film now offers a whole range of merchandise to choose from. The market is flooded with Krrish 3 dolls modelled on actors Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut. Dhoom:3 is out with its Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif dolls. 

It might look like the most unusual piece of merchandise for a superhero flick, but Krrish 3 has also launched movie-related jewellery. 

While Saif was only thinking about a Bullett Raja comic series, now, we hear a full-fledged graphic novel based on the movie is already on stands. 

Recently, Shahid Kapoor and Sonu Sood have resorted to promote their film, R…Rajkumar, via a mobile application ad. Television commercials featuring the actors having a phone chat while they are in-character, are being aired. 

For the same  app, Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra also starred in a similar advertisement around the release of their film, Shuddh Desi Romance, earlier this year. 

Clever promotions

While some films have their entire star cast appearing on various shows on the tube, cities and press offices, some have decided to leave out some actors from the promotions. For instance, Abhishek Bachchan — who has been a prominent part of the Dhoom franchise — has been absent from the promotion activities, making tongues wag on if co-star 

Aamir is trying to sideline him. However, it was later revealed that it was part of the original plan, in consent with all the stars and the marketing team,  that 
only Katrina and Aamir will be present.

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