Dibakar Banerjee spent in excess of Rs1 crore for trailers and other pre-release marketing activities for Detective Byomkesh Bakshy; new-age sensation Soojit Sircar has also spent mega bucks for innovative trailers in his latest offering Piku. Deebashree Mohanty speaks with trade pundits and directors to know whether the 90-second preview is an overrated concept in the industry or does it really set the tone before the real picture
Picture abhi baaki hai… is a tagline that has come alive with mega budget trailer launches in Bollywood ruling the roost. “It kind of sets the tone for the final release,” is how Sushant Singh Rajput, actor of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (DBB), explains this latest fad. “It’s a preview. The trick of a good trailer lies in how it has been shot and whether it manages to excite the audience without revealing too much of the film,” Rajput tells you. There were two trailers for DBB that was released the week before it finally hit the theatres.
Innovation is a buzz word in Bollywood and filmmakers are doing everything possible to come up with engaging short trailers ahead of a theatrical release. The trailer usually lasts for 60-90 minutes and the producer can opt for two-five short trailers depending on the overall budget of the film. “It plays a huge role in determining the film’s success. An interesting trailer goes a long way in ensuring that droves of people visit the cinema hall. Marketing activities have picked up steam in the last five years and that reflects on the kind of pre-film campaigning that is planned,” director Dibakar Banerjee, says.
Grapevine has it that Banerjee spent in the excess of Rs1 crore just to advertise his thriller. “This kind of movies is justified. If the producer is willing to spend on outdoor activities and shooting, then he would not mind splurging on marketing his film. An intelligent producer realises that it is an imperative to engage with the audience during the launch of his film,” he says not willing to divulge details about the exact spends.
The trailer of Piku, starring Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan created a lot of ripple for its innovative ‘Motion is the best emotion’ screening. The leggy actress also went ahead and initiated a father-daughter engagement programme to ‘spice things up a bit’. In a day, the YouTube link had garnered four lakh likes and there was an audience interaction instantly generated. As many as 20,000 had also posted their video on the platform.
“We have seen many drab trailers but the Piku one was quite interesting. It was direct communication with the audience and when you have a face like Deepika Padukone doing the activity, the campaign becomes an instant hit,” Ashutosh Singh, a film and publicity officer says. Singh handles post production marketing for big production houses. He tells you that the mindset around the campaigns have gone through a drastic change.
Trade analyst Komal Nahata agrees. He tells you that drab and boring marketing releases have become a thing of the past. “Releasing mundane trailers just for the heck of it has become passe. like the subjects of the movies are varied, similarly the trailers need to be much more than just a jist of the film. It has to reveal some and conceal some,” he says. His favourite releases in recent time were Finding Fanny and PK. “These trailers had an intriguing element. Even Vidya Balan starrer Kahaani had a very mysterious first trailer release. If you can establish a connect with the audience then it works in favour of the film,” Nahata explains.
From Rs20 lakh to Rs2 crore, the post-production marketing business including trailer launches has set a trend for producers to follow. Even small-time releases, which have a shoe string budget, are willing to spend mega bucks on the pre-release marketing of the film. “There are ways in which you can advertise a film before you plan the release. The most captivating among them is a trailer,” Singh says. So, how does it workIJ “While shooting for the film itself, producers and communication teams come up with options for the trailer and other marketing campaigns. By the time the release date nears, these people narrow it down to only a handful,” Nahata says.