Can controversy alone guarantee success?

It has been over a year and a half since newbie director Ravindra launched his film I Am Sorry… Matthe Banni Preethsona. The film, which stars Prem, Sanjjanaa and Mumbai girl Karishma Tanna, has made more news for  its controversies than the merits of the film itself.

A unit member, on the basis of anonymity, says, “There are certain people in the crew, especially headed by our director (Ravindra), who believe in the tricks of clever marketing. From asking some of the actors to express displeasure about the film to only grab headlines, to releasing stills of a near kiss, they’ve all been scripted well as part of the PR machinery.”

Another source, who was asked to participate in such a controversy, tells us, “I was asked to express my displeasure with the director. What was to follow was another press conference from the director announcing that I’ve just had half-baked knowledge about the film. I didn’t want to be part of any such publicity I don’t need it.”

It is interesting to note that the only person who is participating in this entire circus is Karishma, who will be debuting as a big screen actor through this film. Prem, Sanjjanaa and the rest seem to have already made a mark in this industry and have refrained from the gimmicks.

When we contacted Sanjjanaa, she simply said, “There are 10,000 such girls who are around doing stuff like Comedy Circus and other television shows in Mumbai. When they come to South India and do a film, they immediately believe they’ve become Aishwarya Rai. Ideally, one should wait till their film releases and see the audience response, before going on a rampage over-quoting themselves in the media.”

Sanjjanaa, who believes that she’s established and needs nothing much from this film, says, “I don’t believe in promoting a film for two years, without knowing when the film will release. I’ve just told the makers I’ll stand by them when they know a final release date.”

While Sanjjanaa seems to have realised how she will not fall for any gimmicks, we’re left to see what the next controversy that Ravindra and his team plan on getting into next.