Gone In 60 seconds

Article Updated 22 April, 2005 03:05:19 PM IST

Gone In 60 seconds - Part II

In the first part of this article, we spoke about the power of the 'promo-maker', the person who actually works as hard (sometimes even harder) as the movie's director and editor. This person has a massive role to play in deciding the fate of the movie. In Part I, we spoke about some of those films that have benefited immensely due to some well-cut smart promos. In this week's concluding article, I will be highlighting some of those films that have either suffered or do not sound too promising due to non-exciting promos and teasers.

One such glaring example that comes to mind when one thinks of recent past is Subhash Ghai's magnum opus 'Kisna' that failed to get even a face saving opening despite a massive publicity campaign. Yes, everyone knew about the period in which the movie was set. Everyone knew about two heroines making their debut. Everyone loved the songs on air. Everyone realized that it could well be a make or break venture for Vivek Oberoi (and for this matter, even Ghai!). Still, not many really bothered to visit the theatre screening of 'Kisna'. Why? The answer is very clear. Though the theatrical trailers were well made, the TV promos were a damp squib. Trouble was brewing in multiple formats. One - the length of the promo was extremely short. Two - the filmmaker was content with showcasing the heroine's dancing and rope swinging talent. Three - the lead hero uttering a dialogue or enacting a scene was completely missing. Four - there were not enough talkie promos to give audience an idea of what the movie was about! Result -a dismal show at the box office. Not that the movie in itself was any great shake, but the promos could have managed to be successful in one area - the all important opening weekend collections - that is so vital in today's times.

Ditto seems to be the case of 'God-Knows-When-Would-It-Release ‘Taj Mahal’ -another mega movie by Akbar Khan. The filmmaker has every resource available to him. A period drama, which if presented well, can turn out to be blockbuster. The recent success of 'Mughal-E-Azam' reinstates the faith that timeless romance is here to stay. Gigantic sets, a 50 crore plus budget and Naushad Saab’s music where present but still due to some reasons unknown, the only promos on the screen are song ‘n’ dance routines that are hardly interesting for today's audience looking for something more. Even in the case of Mughal-E-Azam's re-release, the focus was on dialogues and crisp promos rather than anything else. Then why, in the case of Taj Mahal, all one sees is a 30-second song sequence that fails to strike a chord? For a massive movie like this, it should have been an all out publicity campaign with promos flooding the screens. Sadly, that was missing. For a 50- crore movie, it is for sure a major risk because what one wants is not just a money spinning weekend but a few weeks at a stretch!

'Waqt' starring Big B and Akshay Kumar is another one of the movies that is being promoted well but still not in a way that would result in an earth-shattering response at the box office. Yes, the song and talkie promos are being mixed up well. In fact, the songs have been received well by the music lovers. But that zing which one expects from an Amitabh-Akshay-Priyanka starrer is surprisingly missing. What could have been the first blockbuster of the year 2005 seems to be just heading towards an above average to good opening. The earlier promos were good but somehow the comic trailers featuring Amitabh, Boman Irani and Rajpal Yadav in various situations have not really tickled any funny bones across all segments. This also seems to be a hurried up effort to camouflage the family melodrama, which in fact the movie is really all about. Just because some segments of the industry want to write off the movie as a tearjerker (and hence this effort to project a movie in different light), doesn’t mean that the makers need to move away from the theme. All said and done, the first time when Big B and Akshay came together was in 'Ek Rishta', a family drama that was received quite well by the audience. The same should hold good for ‘Waqt’ and the makers should go back to the movie’s USP!

Some of the other movies that can potentially gain well with the arrival of fresh promos are ‘Mumbai Express’, ‘Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi’, ‘Mere Jeevan Saathi’ and ‘Jaane Hoga Kya’. The most surprising case here is 'Mumbai Express'. It is such a rocking comedy for its entire 2.5 hours of duration that cutting a promo could have been a cakewalk. Incidentally, for this movie there has been just about 3 weeks of publicity and that too in a lukewarm manner. The result reciprocates the same at the ticket window - a below average response. This movie is for sure one of the Top 5 movies released in 2005 and deserves to be a family viewing. But sadly, there hasn't been any talkie promo that could at least educate a moviegoer on what the movie is about. There are comic scenes aplenty in the movie and even if 60 seconds from one of them were shown on the small tube, it would guarantee a queue in front of the theaters.

'Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi' could easily have gained from the numerous international awards it has received in various film festivals. But unfortunately the high profile makers (PNC) have (for a change) shied away from any publicity whatsoever and the result is that the movie seems to be heading for an aborted run. Talkie promos have been as scarce as the runs flowing from the high profile Indian batsmen and the movie seems to be going completely unnoticed. Come on - this one deserves to be seen by more people!

Last but not the least, if the makers of 'Mere Jeevan Saathi' (Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor and Amisha Patel) and 'Jaane Hoga Kya' (Aftab Shivdasani and Bipasha Basu) continue to show just the song ‘n’ dance routines, one doesn't require an astrologer to predict the fate of the movies. Both movies carry an interesting storyline, especially the latter that talks about human cloning with Aftab playing a double role - one as original and other as clone. But surprisingly again, the makers have chosen to stay away from the movie's USP - at least for the time being. The result - one keeps sensing deja vu from all of these films and chooses to give them a cold shoulder.

In the age of multiple releases every week and the first weekend's initial deciding the fate of the movie, it is imperative that the promo maker gets as near the importance given to a director or editor. After all, it is this person who has the reins in his hands to excite audiences to throng to the theatres.

About The Author: An IT guy by profession, 1977 born Joginder Tuteja loves to hear, see and write about Bollywood. Having watched more than 2000 movies in his short life span so far, he charms himself in hearing every music album and watching every movie that releases in Bollywood. He believes that there is no entertainment industry that can beat the Hindi movie industry. Completely fascinated by the moving images on the silver screen, he dabbles in writing and loves doing previews, reviews and features that appear on numerous websites and newspapers. Have a thought to share? You can contact him by clicking Here.

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