Movie wise, money foolish?

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Though they are out promoting their next film Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, the Deols feel that big scale movie promotions are a waste of money. “It has become more stressful of late. It’s a waste of money, waste of time, waste of everything! You can use that much of money for making another film, how much you spend on public relations these days,” said Sunny Deol during an interaction.

Similarly, his father actor Dharmendra said that he has seen the trend change in the last five decades. “Nowadays, it has become a trend that more and more pressure and effort is put on a film’s release rather than on its making,” Dharmendra said.
Filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee has also stated that he is not in favour of wasting someone else’s (producers) money when it comes to extensive promotions. Though promotions are a part of showbiz, there are people who do not subscribe to the idea of spending huge amount of money on promotional events and feel the amount could instead be better utilised.
Acclaimed director Onir feels that promotional activities widen the divide between a big-budget film and a small-budget movie. “I wish movies were not promoted the way they are promoted now. It has become a case of who can make more noise and is reduced to a money power show. People associated with these films are making everything public and too available. I don’t know how much it helps to take your starcast to the malls or to different cities. The biggest disadvantage is that they are making the competition unfair. Those who can’t spend money can’t compete with big banners no matter how strong their content is,” says Onir.
Nila Madhab Panda feels spending majorly on promotions shows desperation on the part of directors. “It has reduced cinema to event management. More than the film, people are at times interested just in the promotions. It is nothing but insecurity of the filmmakers who do not have faith in their content and are willing to do anything to pull out the audience from their toilet seats to see their movie. The practice has completely downgraded the movie business,” feels Panda.
Most recently, films like Ek Thi Daayan made a lot of noise with multiple promotional activities including multi-city tour, star performances, promotions on TV and even the launch of a novel. However, the film collections could not match the amount spent on these activities and it did average business. On the other hand, a film like Aurangzeb, which saw subdued promotions, did similar business.
But promotions are necessary, feels director Sanjay Puran Singh. “In this time and era, promotions and advertising is an indispensable part of the process. These promotional activities have a direct economical effect on the success of the films, especially in case of films whose existence is revealed through such mediums. Extensive marketing campaigns are a prerequisite for healthy returns for all films. So it is essential to entice your audiences to shell out their hard-earned money to go see your film in theatres. Being confident about your product is an added valu,e however your viewers too need some convincing,” he says.
The content is the testing point for all films, says Mangesh Hadawale, director of critically acclaimed Dekh Indian Circus. “Though promotional activities are a positive, word-of-mouth also works for many films if the content is strong. There are cases when movies are not promoted well and still people go to watch them. After making two films, I have realised that media is a good tool to promote films,” he says.
The money can always be wisely utilised, feel many. “I know of filmmakers who spend close to `10-20 crores in promotions and that is an amount in which you can make a full feature film. I personally do not enjoy elaborate promotions and do not wish to be a part of the rate race. A small press conference talking about my film is what I prefer,” sums up Onir.