G-Town warms up to promotional outings

Promotional tours for actors and a movie crew was one aspect which Dhollywood had not explored so far in a big way. However, more and more Gujarati films are trying to maximize their reach through various promotional activities.
Picture this. Recent releases Bey Yaar and Aapne To Dhirubhai went on with a pan Gujarat movie promotional activities with the lead actors pitching in with enthusiasm.At the same time, typical Gujarati potboilers, which are essentially restricted to single screen theatres and Saurashtra pockets too, went ahead with a series of multi-city promotional activities. While the crew of Prem Rog celebrated the birthday of the lead actor Nadeem at the theatre on the day of the release, Vishwasghat saw Hitu Kanodia make several promotional appearances in Ahmedabad.
This development has led many renowned names in the industry reaching out to the young and interact with them in order to spread the word on Gujarati films. Says director Bapodra, ���This was one way to ensure there is buzz around Gujarati movies. Rolling out the red carpet for a movie premiere at a swanky multiplex is not done usually for Gujarati movies. However, this time, we took the gamble so that there is more eyeball factor surrounding the stars.���
Promotional activity is all about giving the audience more gratification, according to director Abhishek Jain. Says Abhishek, ���When promoting a Gujarati films, one sees that the avenues and mediums to promoting are not that many leaving out select choices for films. So, it is here that reaching to the audience helps a film break the ice and that���s what we have tried to do when actors interacted with the audience at multiplexes across Gujarat after the movie screening.���
It���s all about deciding the strategy well in advance, according to industry insiders. Says filmmaker Haritrushi Purohit, ���We had a well chalked out strategy that included all the possible platforms, including the social network platform before the release of a film. What helped us grab attention was the well executed creative strategy, which we had thought upon and put up across different media. And actors��� presence definitely helps a movie grab more attention.���
However, some maintain, there remains uncertainty about the efficacy of such a move. Producer turned actor Yagnesh Dave says, ���It is very difficult to say how far will Bollywood style movie promotion strategies help a Gujarati film. Production houses are willing to spare some budget, but are wary of the market trends.���
Echoing the same sentiment is actor Vasim Bloch, who was in Ahmedabad for a promotional tour of his film Rasiya Tari Radha Rokani Rann Ma. He says, ���There is a perception that the Gujarati films that have been running at single screen theatres do not need a promotional strategy. But many actors are now becoming open to such activities, because these help us get more visibility.���
Promotional activities have definitely become the flavour of G-Town for sure.