No promotions, the new success trick in Bollywood?

Experts say this could be the new magic card, as Dhoom:3 becomes fastest Bollywood film to rake in Rs 100 crore, without any pre-release noise.

Are minimal promotions and no song releases the new Rs 100-crore trick? After Dhoom:3’s ‘silent’ strategy leading it to become the fastest Bollywood film
to cross the Rs 100-cr mark (in just three days), the industry thinks subtle is the new way to go.

For the film, lead actor Aamir Khan did what he’s best at doing — marketing — albeit without making a noise this time. Khan did not do any city tours or go to TV shows to talk about the film.

“Aamir is a trendsetter. He shows that you don’t need to go to malls, cities or every show to make your film work. In any case, promotions come at a high price, so people will now learn to say, ‘Let’s save the cost here and concentrate on good content’,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Aamir, himself, had said before the film’s release: “I think in Dhoom:3, less is more. But to achieve more we feel the path is to do less.” Others from the
fraternity, however, feel such a tactic must be used with caution, and it may not always work in case of a smaller film. Filmmaker Onir, for instance, points out, “It’s because Aamir’s (Khan) name is enough of publicity.”

Filmmaker Pooja Bhatt feels it wasn’t altogether going silent that worked. “Dhoom:3 did not really go on a no-promotion strategy. I can see huge Dhoom 3 hoardings on the highway and even on Bigg Boss, Salman has been promoting it in his own way. That said, they avoided the overkill syndrome like Chennai Express, or may be like Jackpot. I think it’s all about the brand. A brand like Dhoom — with stars such as Aamir, Katrina and Abhishek — doesn’t need to go overboard with promotion. It’s refreshing, and shows that to make get a hit, you don’t have to go and scream into people’s ears.”