Bollywood goes to college

Leaving no stone unturned and no audience unexplored, Bollywood movie promotions have entered city colleges with celebs like Imran Khan, Prateik and Ranveer Singh attending fests to promote activities and judge events.

Leaving no stone unturned and no audience unexplored, Bollywood movie promotions have entered city colleges with celebs like Imran Khan, Prateik and Ranveer Singh attending fests to promote activities and judge events.

Before the release of Delhi Belly, Imran Khan made an appearance at NM College. From eating a vada-pav at a roadside stall outside the college to singing the film’s popular number ‘Bhag DK Bose…’, he charmed one and all. During Umang, the college’s annual fest, actor Prateik engaged students in an interactive session while promoting his soon-to-release film, My Friend Pinto. He played games and even distributed freebies to the college crowd.

When Rajeev Khandelwal and Mrinalini Sharma came to judge events at Malhar, the college fest of St Xavier’s College, the grounds featured promotional material of their upcoming film, Soundtrack. So what do students say about this trend? “As long as the college’s interests are not hampered, it’s okay if actors come to promote their movie. After all, college fests are considered a great medium to connect with the youth,” says Tanvi Saxena, TYBA Economics (honours) students from St Xavier’s College.

Malhar also saw actors Vinay Pathak and Parveen Dabas promote their respective movies, Tere Mere Phere and Sahi Dhande Galat Bande. “Coming to colleges works for these actors since they catch the right target audience — the youth. As a student, I feel good because we get see our favourite actors and interact with them,” says Neha Madhani, an NM College student.

But not all students are happy. Says Ketav Mehta, core group member for media for Mood Indigo 2011, “When Bollywood stars promote their films at colleges, it raises the security concerns. Also, people then attend the festival only to see the celebs, which affects the crowd quality. The focus completely shifts from the college events to the film.”