HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD TELEVISION MUSIC FACE IT: PLAYING WITH THE POSTERS

From an intense SRK to an anguished Sridevi, film posters with the emotive faces are generating curiosity and interest among audience

What is common among films made this year, such as Raees, Sarkar 3, Maatr, Mom, Daddy, Haseena or Simran? Take a close look at their posters and you will find the commonality. Yes, all these films have the face of the protagonist on the posters. From the intenselooking Shraddha Kapoor to the angry Arjun Rampal, these posters act as the window to film.

“Posters generate the initial interest and curiosity among audience who then decide to watch the film. For Raees, when I worked on Shah Rukh Khan’s face, it got huge attention,” says poster designer Rahul Nanda, who has also designed the posters of films, such as Jab Harry Met Sejal and Baadshaho. Since the focus of the posters is on the face, Rahul feels that it helps in highlighting the emotions of the characters. “People relate to emotions. It looks edgy and communicates the motif of the story to the audience,” says Rahul, adding, “For Mom, I’ve used different synonyms of the word ‘mother’ on the typography that worked well. Mother is one of the most searched words not only in English but also on various other languages. So I thought of using it on the poster along with Sridevi’s agonised face.”

However, adman Prahlad Kakkar feels that using a face as a poster depends on the star quotient. He says, “Makers prefer focusing on the star. The trend of showing the whole cast is dying. Also, nowadays, many posters are released to constantly remind the audience about the film.”

For filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia, it’s the content of the film that drives the makers to opt for such posters. “For Daddy, Arjun evolved himself to get into the role of Arun Gawli (gangsterturned-politician). It was important to put the spotlight on him. For Haseena, the wrath in Shraddha’s eyes reveal just enough about the film. However, in Jab Harry Met Sejal, one can’t focus on a single face since it’s a story about two people.”