Aamir Khan has always been a marketing genius and if you think that began with Ghajini, you are wrong. He has always been an out of the box thinker. In fact, during Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, he had plastered the backs of autos with the posters of his film as a means to spread the word. There wasn’t any conventional marketing strategy in those days but Aamir knew how to create buzz around his film even when he was young. It was one of the rarest times when posters of a film were seen on a public transport. Since then, he has been devising different ways to market his films. It’s only in recent times that it has become more prominent. Let us tell you how he has been changing the film marketing game with every film of his.
Ghajini, the Aamir Khan film that tasted mega success and opened the Rs 100 crore club. Mind you, we are talking about domestic business here! Just weeks before the release of that film, Shah Rukh Khan’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was up for release, Aamir Khan took the best out of its release. He knew people are going to come in large numbers to watch the Shah Rukh Khan starrer, so he very smartly unveiled the life size Ghajini statue across all the multiplexes of India. People were coming in for Shah Rukh Khan starrer but left talking about Aamir Khan’s Christmas release. In fact, he got the ushers of multiplexes screening Rab Ne get the Ghajini cut. He attended events where he was seen shaving off people’s hair.
The very next year, he promoted his film with students, in various colleges but the one thing that stood out was the posters behind auto rickshaws that stated ‘capacity 3 idiots’. He employed his QSQT trick here and it worked. Even the walls of washrooms were painted in certain theatres. There were slogans that said, “you are an idiot” next to the cubicles in the men’s restroom. The best part was his tour of India in disguise going by the theme of the film. (Also read: Dangal Celebs Review: Aamir Khan’s Dangal has received thumbs up from the Bollywood industry, Celebs like Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Karan Johar applaud Aamir Khan’s latest offering)
Aamir Khan was only backing this film as a producer but that didn’t stop him from getting innovative with promotions. It was challenge because it was a niche film. He promoted it in a way that this was the only film everyone was talking about. Can you imagine a film with no lead actors but a bunch of character actors creating a huge hype before its release, only Aamir Khan can do that.
This off beat film was directed by Aamir Khan’s wife Kiran Rao, where he was seen in a cameo. He knew what the film was about and its target audience. He didn’t want to mislead his fans and the audience into believing it was his film. He talked about the film when it was needed. He let the other important characters in the film get the limelight. The only promotion one can remember was film’s other lead Pratiek Babbar doing the rounds of actual dhobi ghat to promote the film as he played a dhobi in the film.
Aamir Khan produced this adult comedy that starred his nephew Imran Khan among others. And again unlike other actors, he made it pretty clear that it’s an adult film and children should stay away from it. He was even glad that the film received an A certificate. He used every opportunity to promote this film, be it the then Maharashtra Government’s decision to raise the age bar for drinking or a textile exhibition, or even the events around the 10th anniversary of Aamir Khan Productions and the making of Lagaan. It was Delhi Belly that was on everyone’s mind.
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within
This psychological thriller had Aamir Khan yet again applying a unique promotional strategy. He visited nine cities and promoted his film with nine famous crime reporters of those cities. When it comes to going the distance to promote his film, Aamir Khan is unmatched.
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When a film which is a part of India’s biggest franchise is up for release, any actor would go berserk with promotions. But not Aamir Khan, he took a different route this time and went for minimalist promotion of this film. He banked on the excitement and enthusiasm of the audience from a franchise like Dhoom and didn’t even release the full video songs of the films. There were just teasers. The only thing that was promoted or used in film’s promotion was the black Fedora hat he wore in the film. However the masterstroke was to get Salman Khan promote the film on Bigg Boss and the job was done!
PK
Currently holding the title of India’s highest grosser ever, PK’s promotional strategy was similar to that of Dhoom 3. Not much was revealed about the plot of the film. In fact, to be precise the promotions of PK can be summed up in – online teasers focusing on the dialogue, one video trailer, citywide tours, and zero appearances on television shows. Yes a time when every actor can be seen on almost every show on TV, Aamir Khan went into oblivion of sorts. In fact the full theatrical trailer of the film was released just days before the release as mostly the trick was done by its poster which had nude Aamir Khan holding just a transistor.
For Dangal too, Aamir is keeping it low-key. It’s a biopic, a genre that has been a rage this year. He knows the story of a father fighting all odds and his own village men to turn his daughters into champion wrestlers will connect with the audience. The trailer has already done the trick of intriguing everyone. The songs have picked up but still you won’t find Aamir visiting every TV show to promote it. The actor never does promotions just for the heck of it. He lets his product talk and Dangal is already the talk of the town.
We are pretty sure that Dangal after releasing on December 23 will create records. And for that it’s Aamir Khan who we should all bow down to.