The future of Social Media in Bollywood

The social media trend has just started to rise and it could be one of the most important developments related to our present media.

The social media network has become one of the most important and main hubs for content strategies. The reason being promoting a brand or a product through easy conversations and with minimal spend. It has become one of the essential communication medium, that can't be missed.

Why our film-makers prefer social media marketing to promote their films?

We get to see nowadays a lot of movies, have been marketing across digital media and social media. The reason mainly why our film-makers prefer social media, is importantly because it is the only way their films or songs can go viral via live conversations. Recent example is of the superhit song "kolaveri di" by Dhanush. The song from the Tamil film "3" was leaked on youtube and it became an youth anthem, overnight.

Social media helps film-makers to propagate their messages, pictures, videos, to a large scale of audiences. This in turn boosts the publicity and helps generate pre-release buzz exponentially. Social media manages a sustained and a continual interaction with audiences through various mediums and  channels such as micro-blogging posts, applications, and games etc.

Many film-makers  try to establish viewership base before the movie is released as they get an idea of the enthusiam shown for their movie by their Target Audiences. It is safe to say that the film-makers try to count their chickens before their eggs are hatched as they judge the success /failure of their movie, much before it is released.

Off late, the Gen-X film-makers  try to hold conversations and discussions about their films and their stars on Facebook or Twitter, giving the audiences a sense of pride in interacting with the celebs. Twitter which is considered the most powerful social media tool, even more than Facebook, helps the movie promotions via followers who could be movie reviewers, movie buffs etc.

Launching trailers, rushes, first looks of songs and trailers on Youtube, gives insights of a film to the audiences, and gives audiences the required space to form judgements.

With a need to reach out to a large number of audiences across the globe, it is impossible to think about the bollywood-audience connection without the effective use of social media  as a major medium of communication.

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When Cricket Meets Bollywood

It is said if Cricket is religion in India. Sachin is the God. How rightly it is said. But movies also have their own set of a cult following.

It is hard to find an Indian who is not interested in either of the two.

 

Yes, Bollywood and Cricket are India's two most boasted about obsessions. We are a nation where cricketers are deified and temples are made in the name of cine stars. Yet it may be surprising to know that seldom do two meet in a nation of over a billion people.

 

Let's toss aside for the moment the fact about rumours of cricketers dating film actresses, and we see that the connections between India's two obsessions become few and far between.

 

How many good movies have been made on Cricket in Bollywood? I can count on my fingers and I wouldn't be done with just a single hand.

Aamir Khan's Lagaan was perhaps the first movie in the recent history that had a cricket match forming the backbone of the story's plot. The movie showed the rise of the underdog when an ill-equipped team of Indian villagers managed to defeat the trained English team to get three-year lagaan (land tax) waived off. Even the Oscars couldn't ignore the film, but fell just short of honouring it with a golden-man statuette. Aamir Khan had earlier starred in a cricket centric film "Awwal Number" which was directed by the late Dev Anand.

 

Another movie that had its story woven around cricket was Nagesh Kukunoor's Iqbal , which told the story of a deaf and mute young boy's passion for cricket. With sheer struggle and hard work, Iqbal (played by Shreyas Talpade ) rises from a small village to being a pace bowler in cricket team.

And now, when the Cricket mania is at its high, ready to hit the theatres is Milan Luthria's Hat Trick which tells the story of five different characters whose lives are linked to cricket in one way or another. The movie has Kunal Kapoor and Rimi Sen playing fans of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Paresh Rawal plays a cricket buff in England, while Nana Patekar plays a doctor who hates everything about the game. The movie's story moves against the backdrop of Cricket World Cup.

 

Mandira Bedi, a cricket commentator had also acted in a movie titled "Meerabai Not out", which is a story of a middle aged school teacher who's obsessed with cricket.

Recently famed South Indian film-maker Prakash Raj made a film titled "Dhoni" where a young school boy is shown to be an aspiring cricketer, but his father insists on him concentrating in his studies.

 

In the film "Dil Bole Hadippa" Rani Mukherjee became the first female actress to play Cricket onscreen.

Akshay Kumar's film Patiala House may have bombed as the box office, but nevertheless Akshay wasnt deterred from showing his bowling talent onscreen. In this film Akshay plays the role of a NRI cricket player, who desires to be a part of the England cricket team, but sacrifices his dreams for his father's patriotism.

 

Apart from these, hardly any other movie comes to mind while talking about Cricket. Yes, we can see glimpses of the game in films like Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (that had a cricket sequence) or Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (in which Salman expressed his love on a cricket field, in the middle of a match). But these apart, India's two favourite obsessions have hardly been portrayed properly on the silver screen .

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Bollywood Surprises of 2011

Every year any film industry releases hits and flops, films that the audiences like and those that the critics loathe, and vice versa.

This year was a step up for Bollywood, and I am not referring to hit or exceptionally over grossing films like Bodyguard and Ready, nor am I referring to Ra. One which was a technoligacally fine advancement for Bollywood. I am talking about films that made a step upwards in terms of plots and new stories.

The same old, sing song, threesome or teenage drama made way to a new style of films like Dhobhi Ghat, I am Kalam and Girl in the Yellow Boots.

A new film this year was Chillar Party directed by Nitesh Tiwari and having Irrfan Khan in a very fun role at ‘Phatka.’ This film was not only humourous but targeted a very special issue of grit and determination. Even though the film was targeted for children, the film appeaed to several adults as well.

2011, also brought to the table a very mixed reaction film ‘Shaitan.’ This film rose eyebrows due to its contemporary stance and showcase of characters.

All in all, ‘thoda sa hatke’ and we’re not referring to item numbers here, suits Bollywood and 2011 was proof, that India does have a market audience for even such broad-minded issues. 

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Look Back Series: Bollywood, 2009

This year audiences in India did not know if they loved or hated Slumdog Millionaire. Critics slammed the film stating how they hated the portrayal of India in the film, while other criticized the actinjg. None the less, the film bagged 8 Oscars, including the Best Picture!

This year grabbed the media eyes as Shilpa Shetty married top notch Business tycoon Raj Kundra.

The top grossing films this year were incomparable to the number one rank, highest film gross of all times. 3 Idiots recorded a net gross of Rs. 366, 00, 00, 000. It was rated exceptional and won 4 National Awads, and in total over 200 awards from the Bollywood film fraternity at IIFA, Star dust and film fare.

Other top grossing films of 2009 were Kaminey, Love Aaj Kal, Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani, New York, Blue, De Dhana Dan, Kambakkht Ishq and Wake Up Sid.

Ranbir Kapoor became the boy toy and face of the new Bollywood and Katrina Khaif made her mark as the new Bollywood Diva.

Animaton went up a new stage with Bal Ganesh and Human Returns making new advances in terms of animated releases. These films were well received by children but majorly failed at the box office and eyes of the critics. 

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Look Back Series: Bollywood, 2008

2008 saw Prachi Desai make her debut in the film Rock On and Arjun Rampal winning the Best Supporting Actor for the same.

This year, Slumdog Millionaire made its limited release in the West and in India it became the most awaited film.

The highest, top grossing films of 2008 had Ghajini at number 1 followed by Rab Ne Bana De Jodi and Singh in Kinng. Other top films of the year included the sequel Sarkar Raj, Tashan, Jannat, Bhootnath, Kismat Konnection, Dostana and Bachna Ae Haseeno.

Jaane Tu … Ya Jaane Na made 2 stars, Imram Khan and Genilia D’Souza the most loved actors in Bollywood overnight. It was a super hit film amongst the youth and made it to number 6 on the boz office best grossing films list.

This year recorded a release of over 100 films, creating a mark for the most notable films to be relased in ONE single year. These films involved Heroes, Fashion, Drona, Love Story 2050, Mithiya, Mission Istanbul, Kidnap, Krazzy 4, Money Hain toh Honey Hain and Milenge Milenge.  

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Look Back Series: Bollywood, 2007

The top ten, highest grossing films of the year were Om Shanti Om at Rank 1, followed b hit films of the year Welcome, Chak De India, Taare Zameen Par, Partner, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Heyy Babyy, Guru, Ta Ra Rum Pum and Namastey London.

This year was unique in terms of audience reviews being same as the highest grossing films, in terms of reception of actors in these films.

Abhishek Bachchan showed credibility and real talent for the first time through a serious role in the film Guru. 

 This year also released several other notable films like Salaam-E-Ishq, No Smoking, Saawariya and Metro.

Johnny Gaddaar brought back Dharmendra and was the debut film for Neil Nitin Mukesh.

Other epic films that received critical acclaim were Eklavya: The Royal Guard and Gandhi: My Father.

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