In the good old days, there was never a hue and cry raised over the release of a film’s trailer, as today. Then why so much brouhaha today?
– In those days, there was no social media. Today, with platforms like YouTube and social media, a trailer can reach millions of people in a minute. Hence the importance given to the release of trailers.
Some things about the functioning of the film trade are weird. For instance, small films require more promotion than big-budgeted and star-cast films because awareness about them is low, but such small films are rarely well promoted. Can’t this change?
– Yes, it is weird. But producers of small films rarely think of promotional budgets when they make those films. Initially, the aim is to get the film started any which way. By the time the film is completed, budgets are exhausted and, therefore, hardly anything remains to promote the film. But since it has to be released quickly, promotion goes out of the window. So the fault lies with the individual producers who don’t think in totality. Meri film kisi bhi tarha shuru ho jaaye, chalna-chalaana toh Bhagwan ke haath mein hai — this is their thought process which is not cent per cent true. Nobody thinks that agar chalna-chalaana Bhagwan ke haath mein ho sakta hai toh film banaana bhi Bhagwan ke haath mein hona chahiye.
Your thoughts on the teaser of Vicky Kaushal starrer Sam Bahadur?
– It’s good but not extraordinary. It did not have the goosebumps effect which one expects in a film of this kind.