Title, Promotions – And How!

By
Komal Nahta
- March 13, 2010 | 11:39 PM IST
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At least two films released this week have suffered on account of their titles and inappropriate or lack of promotion. The producers of Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? spent heavily on promotion but the initial has generally been below the mark. No doubt, collections on Friday were impressive in a few cinemas but they were not good enough in the rest of the cinemas. This was because of the title and publicity, both of which didn’t cater to the upmarket audience. Today, if a producer wants his film to record impressive collections on the opening day, he has to woo the youth and the city audiences. But a title like Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? could hardly have been expected to appeal to the youth or to the multiplex-going public. That is probably why collections of the comedy film in multiplexes were far lower than in single-screen cinemas on Friday.
The other film one is referring to is Thanks Maa. With a title like the aforementioned, the public was misled into believing that the film was an ode to a loving mother and that it would have family sentiments. Family films usually don’t open too well and pick up only if the word of mouth is good. But Thanks Maa is replete with four-letter words and if this fact had been publicised, it may have taken at least a decent start. However, with a title like Thanks Maa on the one hand and with minimal publicity on the other, not many among the public were aware of what the film had to offer to the audience or even that the film was due for release on 5th March. Resultantly, the opening was dismal everywhere. Even otherwise, the release was so haphazard (hardly any shows in the multiplexes, and just a handful of cinemas in each city) that the opening was further affected adversely.