Its PR, not Pyaar: Veteran bolly Journalist on Ranbir-Alia love

Originally posted by: desiking3

Veteran Bollywood Journalist Soumyadipta Banerjee answers a Quora post titled " Do you really think that Alia and Ranbir are dating?"

Here is what he said:

The Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt love story is more of a commercial arrangement than a romantic tale.

In India, we think with our heart.

If you give me a fresh pair of Bollywood love birds, you immediately have my attention. Then, if you are able to marry a brand or a commercial film with a real-life love story, you have a sure-shot blockbuster.

That is exactly what I am getting to hear these days from my trusted sources: The whole dating game between Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt is a build-up purely for commercial reasons.

The news-break came to me from a friend of mine who is a cinematographer and who occasionally films ad films.

"Look boss," my friend said, adding, "In Bollywood, only 30% films are a hit. A real life romance between the lead pair may work wonders for a film. If we can build up a narrative that Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor are dating, then there are some people who will buy the tickets just to see them together on screen. On the other hand, film critics will spend at least two paragraphs in their review talking about their screen chemistry and brands will fight with each other to get both of them on board. It's a win-win situation for everybody."

He then showed me the discussion thread on his Whatsapp group, which has ad filmmakers and advertising professionals as members. There seemed to be an unanimous decision that Alia-Ranbir is the hottest ad property in town. One of the members even informed that how a brand is bidding top dollars to get the two of them together for an ad that will be air a month prior to the release of their forthcoming Bollywood film.

That night, I called a PR friend of mine to ask how she perceived the whole Ranbir-Alia hush-hush love story.

"It's all fake!" she exclaimed, adding: "Have you heard them saying specifically that they are in love? Or that they are dating? No na? They are just throwing broad hints here and there. Or, say going for dinners together. If you look closely, then none of them is admitting that they are in love, forget about getting married. I don't think they are dating at all. Right now, it's just a build-up," she said.

My friend added that when the time comes, one of them put an end to the love story with the famous Bollywood cliche, "Oh! we are just good friends!"

Then, almost in a whisper, she said, "Look, no media will promote a film directly but everybody is game for a great real-life, love story. By the time their film arrives in the market, all of you will be obsessed with Ranbir and Alia. What's the harm in serving you a real life and a reel-life love story together?" she asked.

A couple of phone calls later, I gathered from my sources that there are supposedly three ads in the pipeline, a few more brand endorsements along with the Bollywood film that they are doing together. If that film is a hit, then we all know what's going to happen next... a few more big budget Bollywood films

I had no doubt now on why ad filmmakers are perceiving Ranbir-Alia as one of the hottest brands in town.

Originally posted by: TheRager

I dont get the blue part. I mean just you start spreading dating rumours and you become hot in the ad market? Dont these admen have eyes? Cant they see they look horribly mismatched? Ranbir looks like an aged uncle and Alia has a baby face.

Other pairs which successfully did ads atleast didnt look so mismatched apart from Saif and Kareena who also looked horrible for the same reason. Most successful couple in the ad market are Kajol and Ajay who look good together in these ads.