HIT TARGET
UDTA PUNJAB Release date: June 17, 2016 Cost: ~40 crore Domestic Box-office collection: ~60 crore (net after tax) Politics: Campaigning on for Punjab elections (February 2017) LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA Release date: July 21, 2017 Cost: ~8 crore Domestic Box-office collection: ~18 crore (net after tax) Politics: No significant event PADMAVATI Release date: Scheduled for December 1, 2017, now deferred Cost: around ~150 crore Domestic Box-office collection: NA Politics: Gujarat elections in December 2017 the polls six months later. The producers appealed in the Bombay High Court, which ruled in favour of the film and allowed its release (with just one cut). Udta Punjab turned out to be a hit too.
Controversies keep audiences engaged, but they make life tough for a film marketer says Prabhat Choudhary whose firm Spice PR markets and promotes several Bollywood movies and stars. “The nature of the controversy will never be known till it happens and so there is no way to prepare for it. What a marketer can do, however, is stay agile and alert. The turnaround time, or the reaction time makes a huge difference,” says Choudhary.
It is also important to be savvy about the political agenda, as many believe that the entertainment sector has become a soft target for people across the political spectrum. And Choudhary says that these controversies often end up helping people outside the industry more than the film’s producers and actors. “At times controversies are caused by issues raised by factions outside the industry. In most cases, the controversy gives these external factors more visibility than it gives the film.”
Bharat Bambawale, brand strategist and founder of Bharat Bambawale & Associates, says that even without the alleged political agenda, controversies around films reflect the socio-cultural state of a country at any point of time. “Marketing does not exist in a vacuum and will always have to take into account the prevalent sentiment. If a product or campaign has natural affinity to the cultural sentiment of the time, it receives a tailwind. However, if there is any cultural antipathy, it is bound to face headwinds and that is what we see happening.”
How does one deal with such crises? Unlike brands that have been seen to benefit from turning on the communication channels to full volume, film marketers may need to plot a different path say experts. It does not always help to speak up or take on the protestors. Choudhary says, “There are times when it is better to let sleeping dogs lie. But other times, it becomes imperative to address the controversy,” he adds.
Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the studio behind ‘Padmavati’ has preferred to let an official statement do the talking. It said: “We have faith that we will soon obtain the requisite clearances to release the film. We will announce the revised release date of the film in due course.”