Once upon a time, we had film actors on a pedestal and people would buy film magazines like Film-fare and Star Dust to get the latest dope on them and there was just one channel Doordarshan which ran programs like Chaya-Geet, Chitrahaar and Rangoli which ran songs for half an hour once a week. Movies ran for weeks and a movie was certified a hit on number of days at the box office.
Film stars were exclusive in fact reclusive and people craved for attention and information. But that was the year 1991 and now it’s 2011. In the last 20 years, the business of movie making has changed its all about the first weekend and the multiplex audience. There are so many pressures to market the movie on all traditional mediums and social media channels.
It is like carpet bombing basically;you cannot miss the cast of the latest big blockbuster on telly, radio, new channels, news papers, TV shows and internet.
A set of Twitter species has emerged from Bollywood in the new order. A sample below:-
It is like carpet bombing basically;you cannot miss the cast of the latest big blockbuster on telly, radio, new channels, news papers, TV shows and internet.
A set of Twitter species has emerged from Bollywood in the new order. A sample below:-
- Out of Work Actor/Actresses: There are so many out of work actors/actresses who have precious little to do expect cut some ribbons and becoming good will ambassadors for some events. They keep tweeting about “Love NY”; “awesome Toronto” or "Go Deccan Chargers" to let people know they are still alive.
- Burned out directors/actors: There are 45+ year old burned out gentlemen who are born again social activists who support Anna Hazare and Ramdev in their fight against corruption and black money but won’t make a peep about the string of actresses getting caught in airports for customs violations
- PR junkies: There are unapologetic guileless actors/authors who wake up before a movie/book release and keep tweeting links, new coverage and tit-bits about their upcoming release. Cultivate a positive image to increase twitter followers count and keep advertising it. ( 100 K followers today, 400 K tomorrow)
- Pure Attention Seekers: There are some people who are so desperate for your attention and will tweet sensational junk. There is a director known for his underworld movies who said he will offer a movie to Maria Susiraj ( the girl involved in the Neeraj Grover case) and yesterday was using cuss words to praise Big B's latest movie.
One cannot really help but pity these people from the film industry;Twitter robs them of the sheen and the mystic they once had. You see them for what they really are, human beings just like us, insecure, petty, confused, biased, vain, hypocritical and mostly boring.
P.S: 1 Rajnikant has no Twitter account neither does he endorse any brands and doesn’t gives exclusive interviews. He is a bald 65 years old man who seems mostly like the uncle next door but when he dons the grease paint he becomes and always will be the SUPER-STAR.
P.S: 2 If you are regular on Twitter you will know whom I am talking about :)
Isn't that the charm of twitter: a movie star is no longer a movie star, he's just another regular guy you can have a coffee with. It would hurt Rajnikant's stardom if he became so easily available and accessible to the masses which is why he makes movies once in a blue moon and refrains from making comment on any controversial subject. The reason he still is a "star" is because of that elusiveness: nobody knows his political opinion or whether he likes Pizza Hut over Dominos!
ReplyDelete@ Anon:- Well it cuts both way, the charm for me for a Movie Star was the aura and mystic. When you see them tweeting about traffic, or take political positions it makes them "People like Us"
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am not on twitter nor even bother to follow any of these film stars, I can totally understand what you are talking about here. The publicity stunts and promotions just before the release of any movie totally kill the charm, but are sure way of generating revenues over the first weekend itslef, given the short public memory and attention span due to overload of information, I think this is the right strategy for them to make money and also be in the public eye....personally..I hate people who always try to hog spotlight....but can't do anything about it apart from switching off my TV.
ReplyDeleteMayank - yes TV viewing has become a pain, the actors invading every possible news channel, TV shows, culinary shows and even tech/gadget reviews. It is impossible to avoid the stars, it was really sad for me to watch Amitabh Bacchan go from studio to studio repeating his yesteryear dialogues in NDTV, Times Now etc.
ReplyDeleteAm sure this will come a full circle and some new marketing strategies will emerge again ! else there is no mystery with the film stars any more.