(Written by Unni)
One of the most crucial aspects in movie making is generating the pre-release hype. A movie can create interest in the public through its promotional campaigns – a few stills and a trailer with a theme music should leave the spectator intrigued on what the movie is all about.
Movie promotions have indeed come a long away from the days of “notice” distribution of the era when films were being shown in “Talkies” and “Tent-u-kottais“. Back in our school days, there would be at least some of us who would have run behind the black and yellow taxis or the “petti-autos”, which would be announcing a movie that came to the nearest “Talkies”. A guy would be hired to shout hoarse all day from a mike in the taxi and distributing “notices”. These notices came in yellow/orange translucent paper with the poster on one side (in Malayalam) and the storyline on the other. But it did have a charm about it and collecting such notices has/is a hobby for many.
Globalization came to India in the early 90′s and Rupert Murdoch’s cable network took India by storm. The impact it had on our Malluwood was significant. Asianet was the first Malayalam cable channel . It proved to be the perfect remedy for the those who were bored/frustrated with the never-ending Thappum Thudiyum and Krishi darshan‘s on DD. The movie industry looked to satellite channels to promote their new releases. Film based programs became regular. On occasions such as Onam/Christmas we even saw the stars giving interviews on their new releases. Film songs from the new movies would be shown in between. It was a mutually beneficial exercise. While the TRP’s of these programs would go up, the producers were able to generate interest.
The late 90′s saw the arrival of Internet. Film producers looked to Internet to promote their movies. Harikrishnans was one of the first Malayalam movies to have a registered site. It was a novel idea and resulted in lot of hits to the site, partly because people were still “awed” by the Net and partly because they wanted to see something they could relate to. Harikrishnans wallpapers adorned many a person’s desktops.
Internet promotional campaign took off in a big way and virtually every movie has a registered site now. The site would be “Moviexyz-the movie.com” (Imagine “elipathayam.com or Sharapanjaram-themovie.com).The site would feature the trailer in some streaming format, a few downloadable wall papers and even ring-tones. The possibilities were endless.
Another landmark was created, when Mohanlal’s next movie, Photographer was announced. It also had a registered site. What made it different was that it had a frequently updated production diary (more like a blog) on how the shooting progressed, jazzy Flash animations and all.
However even with the advent of Internet and cable TV, the best medium of promotion is the good old Cinema poster itself. Be it the one with a python sprawled across Jayan’s chest in Moorkhan or a shirt-clad Seema in Avalude Raavukal, it is these posters pasted across strategic locations of the city, that draws the maximum crowd.
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