Tollywood follows bollywood

Tollywood filmmakers are trying to take a leaf out of their Bollywood counterparts’ books to promote their films.

While film promotional activities in B-town can be fairly innovative (Aamir Khan went on an incognito countrywide tour for 3 Idiots and Shahid-Genelia did a promotional campaign in a car for Chance Pe Dance), it’s T-town’s turn to do its bit to market new films.

NTR Jr released a colourful limited edition calendar to promote his latest film, while the seasoned Venkatesh has just launched a smart promotional kit inspired by his comic caper. “Besides the usual stationery, we have specially designed kites and other merchandise based on the film’s tagline ‘Be Positive’,” reveals Venky.
For an industry that has never resorted to publicity gimmicks or promotional activity, what’s making Tollywood think of it now?

“Well some films require a lot of publicity. We’d created special cricket caps for fans and had distributed them at Chepauk Stadium (Chennai) to promote our Tamil production Vasantha Maaligai in 1970,” he rewinds. According to industry estimates, most promotional acts (merchandise, apparel inspired by a film) cost a modest Rs 2-3 lakh, while the major chunk of the promotional budget earmarked for posters, hoardings, et al could be anything between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore.

The film promotional act began way back in 1957, when producers of the mythological film Mayabazar released calendars of legendary NTR as Lord Krishna and it was a complete sellout. This made other leading production houses flood the markets with colourful calendars and various kits to promote their respective films. Venkatesh’s Kalisundam Raa had marketed memorabilia in 2000 and later Pawan Kalyan did the same for Johnny (2003) and Baalu (2005). “Some production houses launched customised apparel inspired by the outfits actors wore in the film. But such activities have worked only when the film had a big star cast,” says Karunakaran who directed Baalu.

The small screen has proved to be a great vehicle to promote films. Stars are now routinely promoting their films on game shows. Actor Arun who appeared on 40 TV shows to promote Katha says, “aggressive marketing is necessary to promote a film. In fact, Aamir Khan’s novel promotional methods is inspirational.” Even stars of films like Kurradu and Pravarakyudu appeared on game shows to wow viewers.

Even the ‘meet the stars’ activity is a fad that’s gaining popularity. Siddharth (Oy), Allu Arjun (Arya 2), and Venkatesh (Namo Venkatesa) took part in these interactive campaigns of late. Producer Chintalapudi Srinivas who’s revived the old promotional practice of touring the state with the film crew (with Kalidasu and Current) says, “The audience will turn up in theatres in large numbers to watch stars because they’ll connect to the films. This activity helps promote upcoming stars and banners in a big way.”

It’s heartening to see that Telugu filmmakers have realised the importance of film promotional activities in creating buzz about films much before they hit the screens.