Is Bollywood guilty of focussing more on promotions than films?

We are living in the age of social media and the need of the hour is hits and clicks. Bollywood as an industry has drastically changed over the last 20 years and now everything is being done for a reason. Gone are the days of going through the motions and just riding on luck and star power. This is good, right? This is what should be happening and nothing should ever be left to chance. But, are filmmakers and corporates overdoing promotions, marketing blitz and themselves getting confused?

Over the last 24-36 months, we are seeing events for poster launch, teaser launch, trailer launch, character launch, song launch. Yes, I am not kidding! This plethora of marketing and promotional strategies are good and we have to keep up with the modern times, but sometimes it is becoming too much. It is bordering on craziness and producers are smart enough to understand that.

What is really the point of doing so many events? And it really makes me wonder do the people doing these things know what are they achieving? Even, actors are becoming robotic and running out of ideas in their answers and you can’t fault them for that.

India is a country of 1.3 billion people and you can’t please each and every person. The filmmakers have every right to promote their film in whichever way they want, but at least it has to be balanced and subdued. If your film is good then it will do well at the box-office, but if your film is bad then no amount of marketing can save it. I sometimes find it amusing to see the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and rest appearing on daily soaps and reality TV series and really just standing there as spectators and making a mockery of their class and pedigree.

The stars have to understand that audiences also like suspense and secrecy and you cannot bombard them with all the information regarding your film. In the olden days, films used to celebrate silver jubilee and golden jubilee (I miss those days) and now we have first three days deciding the fate of the film.

Karan Johar has been at the forefront of Bollywood’s obsession with marketing.

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The entry of corporates has done wonders to the cinema worldwide, but you need to have that human element and you can’t impose your film on people with marketing and propagandas all the time. We always lament the fact that why Indian films don’t win Oscars and the reason is, we are giving more importance to style over substance. And in the long run, it will backfire every single time.

Marketing and promotions are good and it has tremendous exposure, but filmmakers have to work hard on their film rather than worrying about gimmicks and TRPs. At the end of the day, class will always remain class and all the surround sounds, glitz and glamour cannot enhance your product.

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Dhaval Mehta

I am crazy and obsessed with politics, sports and entertainment. A journalist, who is not afraid to give his opinion and believes in calling spade a spade. I like to think on my feet and come up with original, fresh and out of the box ideas.
Email: editor@bollywoodbubble.com Phone: +91 8355910465