Releasing films and songs correlated to an ongoing festival seems to be Bollywood's latest promotional strategy.
Gone are the days when promotions were restricted to the mandatory press conferences and after-release events. In an age of innovation, promotions have seen a sea change over the years. While until now, filmmakers faithfully released their films on Eid and Diwali, considered as the best time for business, the latest trend is to cash in on every festival.
Cases in point are many. The makers of 'Don' strategically released their special 'Ganapati' number 'Morya Morya' during the recent Ganeshotsav festivities. So also, 'Jai Santoshi Maa' is being released during Navratri. Mahesh Ramnath, COO of Percept Picture Company (the producers) says, "It was only logical to release the film during Navratri as the film is about values and faith. Faith runs high during Navratri and naturally, more people will catch it. A high number of prints (250) are being released nationwide on account of the 'big potential' that we see in the film."
It may be recalled that director Ravi Chopra launched the famous Holi song 'Holi khele Raghubeera' from his film 'Baghban' during the season of colours and it worked. The market-savvy director says, "I think using religious occasions for promotions is a good marketing tool. If you have songs or even a film that you can release during a particular festival, it gives your product a push. If you don't use that tool, you are definitely losing out on something."
Opening alongside is another devotional film, Aman Khan's 'Krishna'. Ask Khan whether this is a trend and he refutes it saying, "I don't see this as a trend. But coinciding film promotions with festivals just enhances visibility. It's very much like cricket. You wouldn't blame a filmmaker who releases his cricket-based film at a time when the cricket fever is on. Such promotions have good recall value."
Adds Ahmed Siddiqui, director of 'Jai Santoshi Maa', "Releasing religious films during festivals does make sense. It doubles the excitement and helps in tapping the right type of audiences."
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