Film 'ke liye kuch bhi karega'

Feigning a cat-fight, jumping off a multi-storey building, faking an affair, getting a tattoo — welcome to the new-age film promotions.

Actresses Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan who were on a promotional spree last month for their film, Who Killed Jessica? were spotted everywhere. But what really grabbed the eye-balls were when they  indulged in lip-locks at almost every show or interview while promoting their films. The move had less to do with the film and more to do with reported stories of the two actors not seeing eye-to-eye, which they vehemently denied say industry-watchers.

Says the film’s director, Rajkumar Gupta, “The content of my film was much stronger than any supposed animosity (Rani-Vidya). As far as promotions are concerned, it has become essential to promote films, but I cannot say to what lengths actors should go.”

Some promotional antics can get a tad scary, like the one that John Abraham took on when he jumped from a 30-feet billboard to unveil Jhootha Hi Sahi’s poster.

Others reportedly take on the age-old route of romantic dalliances to fuel curiosity to market the film. One such film that cropped up was Hrithik Roshan-Barbara Mori starrer Kites, which got more publicity for an alleged romance between them than film. The same repeated when with the film Band Baaja Baarat, rumours of an affair between Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh did the rounds.

Says trade analyst Amod Mehra, “It all started with Aamir Khan when he came up with innovative strategies for Ghajini. Innovation is the key and if Vidya-Rani managed to bring in the audience for a non-hero film, it’s commendable.”

Film-maker Sajid Khan maintains that whatever works for the film becomes a hit. “If the film works, the marketing strategies is a hit, if it doesn’t, it is termed as a publicity stunt.”