Star Impact

Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan received a boost after Amitabh Bachchan tweeted about the film. The lead protagonist Sharib Hashmi in the garb of Shahenshah and Inaamulhaq as Coolie pose with the superstar and their director

The canvas of our movies just got larger, with unique story boards, a distinct narrative style and with film-makers eager to tell their tale in a novel manner. What urges them to walk the path less trodden and experiment with unique concept is the confidence that their work of art shall be accepted by the audience. With the industry receptive to diverse streams, and big stars and studios coming forward to support such projects, the path has been paved to bring about an evolution where new ideas are bearing fruit.
Take the recent instances of films like Ship of Theseus, The Lunchbox or Filmistaan that managed to grab the attention of stars and film-makers alike. While The Lunchbox did have actors Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui who have inked their name on screen with their performances, movies like Ship… and Filmistaan with unknown actors managed to grab the industry’s attention merely on the merit of content. Nitesh Tiwari, who had co-directed Chillar Party with Vikas Bahl and the recent Bhoothnath Returns is of the opinion, “Several big production houses came forward to support The Lunchbox. In case of Chillar Party, Salman Khan loved the film and so he decided to co-produce it. In fact, Ranbir Kapoor too did a dance sequence in the film. All this helped in getting the attention of the moviegoer.”
But while earlier, guest appearances by stars were quite common, today, a star is seen actively promoting the film that he connects with. Exhibitor Akshay Rathi says, “Just making a guest appearance and making a star sleep walk across the screen is not enough. What you do with Salman Khan in the fleeting appearance that will make the audience go berserk will make a difference to the prospect of the film.” Besides, while, no one can refute the fact that when an actor or a big studio supports a project, it creates a positive buzz in the market, the ultimate test is when the audience actually goes to see the film. There is no denying the fact that when a film is promoted by a star or a film-maker, does generate enough interest. According to director Nitin Kakkar, viewers are reassured that this must be a quality product for an actor to support it. Besides, Kakkar who had made the delightful Filmistaan, feels that the entire industry works on star power. “It definitely grabs eyeballs. Although Mr Amitabh Bachchan was not officially on board to promote the film, it did help us when he tweeted about Filmistaan and also mentioned it on his blog. Unka toh naam hi kaafi hai. Even one tweet from him can spread like fire. Otherwise before that nobody knew who Kakkar or Sharib Hashmi or Inaamulhaq were. We are very grateful for what he did. Even Vidhu Vinod Chopra asked me how he could help in promoting the film.”
There is no denying the fact that there are various ways in which star power is used to provide an unique experience to the audience. Farah Khan cleverly roped in an array of actors in a song sequence in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, Om Shanti Om, which definitely helped in adding value to the film, that already had a big star in it. But, more often than not, an actor believes in the project or takes it up because of the rapport he or she shares with the director. Kakkar says, “I think, they are impulsive gestures or maybe the actor has genuinely connected with the film and that is the reason why he comes forward to promote it. Whatever be the reason, at the end of the day, we all love cinema and want to support a good movie.”
When Tiger Shroff made his debut with Heropanti, both Aamir Khan and Subhash Ghai made it a point to attend the promo launch of the film. In fact, Khan had proclaimed him as the next superstar of Hindi cinema at the event. Says Tiger, “It does make a difference when big stars help promote a film as people have great respect for big stars and they think that the reason they are promoting the film is because they have some sort of umeed or expectations from the newcomers. Their support adds value, credibility and also a sense of curiosity about who the stars are promoting. I owe Aamir sir a lot for taking out so much time and helping in promoting my film and also Subhash (Ghai) uncle, because had it not been for him my father would not be in the industry and neither would I.”
When recently Salman Khan attended the promo launch of Kamal Sadanah’s Roar, the event managed to grab the attention of the media. “When we were making the film, there was absolutely no buzz about it. Only when Salman came for the trailer launch, the media took notice of us. We wanted to make people aware of the film through our trailer launch, and this was an effective way as a big star attending an event does make an impact.”
But is it enough to get a big star on board to promote a film? According to Yusuf Sheikh, Business Head, Percept Profile, there are three stages in a films promotion and life cycle. “Big stars act as a catalyst in creating awareness for the film. But the promos should reach out to the target audience. The content of the film is of utmost importance, because if the film is not good then people are not going to watch it and hence it will not convert into numbers. For instance, the entire industry attended the premiere of Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, and the world was aware of it, but it did not convert into likeability because of its content, hence they were unable to convert it into sales. Similarly, with Akshay Kumar who produced Fugly, that did not do well. So, it is imperative to first create a likeability for the product through promos, songs, campaigns. Although Kick did not fare well, Salman is a big star and has been in the film industry for a long time. The audience respects him and is willing to gives him a chance. Despite a huge interest created for Filmistaan, it did not convert into numbers. During Club 60’s promotion, we realised that although the movie is good with an impressive star cast, people would rather watch it on DVD. Numbers tab ayenge when people will go to the theatres to watch it.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, Rathi states that, “There is no guarantee that when a big star endorses a film, it will get a huge opening. It is absolutely important for a film’s promo to be extremely engaging and give the impression that it is a genuinely entertaining film.” The belief that one can dole out sub-standard fare to the audience does not hold true any longer. Over the years, the audience has, however, become smart and can gauge how the film is through the trailers. Although we are a cinema-crazy nation, Kamal Gianchandani, President, PVR Pictures, believes that, “In a land where cinema is religion and movie stars are considered divine, a celebrity adds brand value to the movie, because of his ardent fan following. While the movies cash-on the credibility and fan base of the superstar; the celebrity gets to interact with a new set of audience that the movie caters to. The moment Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan is associated with a film, viewers automatically relate and set expectations for the brand synergy. For instance, had Aamir Khan not associated himself with the critically-acclaimed movie Ship of Theseus, the flick might have been lost in the crowd. Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini’s association with the Bhojpuri movie, Gangadevi, not only brought huge profits to the movie, but also helped in changing the image of the Bhojpuri movie industry.”
It is not only the stars who support unique projects, but increasingly studios too have stepped into the fray, creating a different company that will cater to small budget films with novel ideas. Thus we have Spotboy, an arm of UTV Motion Pictures, Balaji Motion Pictures’ Alt Entertainment, Yash Raj Studios’ Y Films, that actively support such enterprises. Amrita Pandey, VP and Head, Marketing & Distribution, Studios, Disney India says, “Some of the movies we backed were co- produced and supported by like minded producers and film-makers who are also influencers, like The Lunchbox with Karan Johar, Ship Of Theseus by Kiran Rao. Their support attracts visibility and credibility for the movie and helps give the tail wind you need on these promotions. However, only good content sells and audiences these days are hungry for different and clutter breaking movies and they come out to the theatres to support these movies.” Ajit Andhare COO of Viacom 18, is however not sure whether it really helps the film when a star associates himself with it. “Studios bring in the entire expertise of marketing. It does add weightage when a star associates himself, but here we are talking about how we can create a much larger influence or perception in people’s mind.”