Kollywood turns to coffee-table books

What'sthe best way to spend time while waiting for a tardy friend at a coffee shop?Flipping through a coffee table book on the making of the Tamil film 'Satyam'might be your best bet. With stills from the film starring Vishal, Nayantara andUpendra, the crew on location, biographies of the crew and art director'ssketches of the sets, this attractively packaged book is the latest avatar ofthe cinema promo. Handbills, handpainted posters, larger-than-lifehoardings and even drummers - Kollywood has had affairs with every form ofadvertising for nearly 100 years. "Cinema has been the most visible form ofcommunication," says Mohan V Raman, a collector of film memorabilia who usescinema to lecture on management concepts. So, how did filmmakerspromote their films right at the beginning? "We used to look forward to Thursdayevenings when a cart would bring handbills of forthcoming films, and the entirevillage would crowd around," says Ramu, a septuagenarian , reminiscing about thedays when he and his friends eagerly awaited the release of films of yesteryearKollywood superstars, M K Thiagaraja Bhagavathar and P U Chinnappa.For decades, the post card and postal envelope - which were evenmailed to friends in Malaysia and Sri Lanka - have been a dynamic medium ofadvertising. "Producers, theatre owners and even actors like Balan (Malayalam)printed their own private stationery and used it to promote themselves or theirfilm and whet the appetite for their forthcoming release," says Raman.Producer S S Vasan, whose advertisement for Chandralekha (1948) hasformed part of numerous studies in promotional strategies, was the inspirationfor many others like A V Meyyappan who became a master at publicity, He rancontests on Radio Ceylon to create a buzz for his film 'Paava Mannippu' as earlyas 1961. Until the advent of radio, producers turned innovative withwhatever means at hand, and "the practice of using a 'tandora' to advertise afilm was in practice in Madurai town even until 1980," says Raman. SivajiGanesan's 200th film 'Thirusoolam' was one such film promoted with the localdrummer belting out rhythms, while children danced around the cart from whichthe film's songs were played on a PA system. What is a cinemarelease without poster wars between fans? The battles may not be as pitched asthey are between present day fans, but in 1954, the poster war between Sivajiand MGR fans was replete with sarcasm. "Padmashree Sivaji Ganesan and Padmashreevendam endra MGR MLA (the MGR who refused a Padmashree)" read the poster on'Koondukilli' the only film in which the two acted together. "It was in this erawhen fans themselves became a medium of promotion ," says Raman."Often the bringing of the print reel from the station to thetheatre was a ritual and fans would line up for the procession. The whole thingtook on a festive air," says Murali, a Sivaji Ganesan fan. The box would beempty for security reasons but that did not diminish the enthusiasm of thecrowd. By the end of the 80s, the culture of cut-outs and abishekams was inplace. Handpainted prints and posters gave way to vinyl hoardings, and producersbegan setting aside huge amounts for film promos. Today, spending anythingbetween Rs 15 lakh and Rs 40 lakh on advertisements in the print media is thenorm for a number of producers. By the 90s, the postal departmentallowed producers to print bona fide cards and shared half the cost ofpostcards. The postcards for Rajnikanth starrers, sold for 25 paise by thedepartment, became collector's items, adding yet another dimension to promos.More recently , the promos of 'Sivaji' and 'Dasavatharam ' grabbed the attentionof the national television channels. "It's just the tip of theiceberg, and once advertisers begin working on film trailers and publicitymaterial, it will be a spectacular show," says S Prabhakar of Brand Box Office,an advertising agency. "Television advertisement is the next big area and anideal medium to break new ground." "Advertisements are all aboutleaving your mark, and the coffee table book is one of Kollywood's callingcards," says 'Satyam' director Rajashekar , who had help from KrithikaUdayanidhi Stalin for the design, content and layout of the coffee table book.bhama.devi@timesgroup .com