Given the risqué territory they were planning to tread with The Dirty Picture, the makers probably knew their marketing strategy would have to be equally racy.
And if its television campaign is anything to go by, then they certainly have achieved it. Taking a full-frontal approach, the theatrical promo of the film has Vidya Balan gyrating like never before to the tunes of Ooh La La.
“This is unbelievable. I was expecting a sexy screen diva, but what we see is beyond imagination. And I suppose the actual film would be even racier,” says a prominent director on conditions of anonymity. “I think it would take a while before we can come to terms with Vidya’s new avatar.”
Racy or not, the promos have done their job. But are they inviting unnecessary censure from the moral brigade? “It was a conscious call. There is always a handful of people who create issues where none exist,” says director Milan Luthria. “But since they don’t represent the Indian audience at large, we don’t take them seriously. We have the censor board to decide if it’s appropriate or not.”