MUMBAI: In an unprecedented move, Ronnie Screwvala’s UTV Motion Pictures has set aside a whopping Rs 20 million (Rs 2 crores) to market their upcoming film Khosla Ka Ghosla. Pertinent to note here is that the film has been made on a budget of Rs 30 million (Rs 3 crores).

UTV senior vice president marketing and communications Siddharth Roy Kapur says, “I think this is actually the first time in Indian cinema that the marketing budget of a film is more than 50 per cent of the cost of production of the film itself.”

Director Dibakar Banerjee will be debuting with Khosla Ka Ghosla starring Boman Irani, Anupam Kher, Tara Sharma and Parvin Dabbas. The film will release worldwide on 22 September and was shot on a 45 day start to finish schedule in Delhi.

Strategy

Explaining the marketing strategy, Kapur says, “We’ve got two very interesting characters in the film – Khosla and Khurana – played by Anupam and Boman respectively. Khurana is an evil builder, a lone shark who’s out to swindle everyone out of their money. So we thought why not give our marketing strategy that evil Khurana angle? Also, with a cast like this, people think that it’s an art film so it became even more imperative to make a commercial marketing campaign.”

As per the marketing strategy, ‘Beware’ posters will be stuck all across Bombay, Delhi, etc with the character of Khurana on it with Khosla holding a banner saying, ‘All property dealers and buyers beware of Kishan Khurana.’ Ads and promos on television and in theatres will also be shown on the same lines.

Apart from this, a music video around the concept of Anarkali being walled in (from Mughal-E-Azam) has also been shot and is on air. Khosla has been depicted as Anarkali and is being walled in by Khurana. The video shows the walling in of Khosla by Khurana as a theme and has been shot at a construction site.

Another innovative step that UTV has taken is to organise special shows of Khosla Ka Ghosla in Delhi for every one who shares the surname of ‘Khosla’ and ‘Khurana.’

“Any person who is a Khosla or a Khurana has to carry his photograph and name identity for the show, which will entitle him/her to watch the special screening of the film,” says Khosla Ka Ghosla co- producer Savita Raj Hiremath.

Special audio visuals with Anupam Kher, Boman Irani and UTV chairman Ronnie Screwvala will be telecast on all news channels from 14 September onwards. ‘Nazarbattu’ (voodoo doll) will also be distributed as a merchandise of the film.

Target Audience

“The marketing strategy is targeted at the national and international audiences because while screening the film at Cannes and in Hyderabad, I realized that the land mafia phenomenon exists everywhere in the world,” says Hiremath.

Kapur further adds, “Since the film is based in Delhi, it has got a strong North market. So we will be releasing more prints in the northern sector for this film compared to any other films of ours. We promote UTV films not just in Mumbai but also in the north, but for Khosla Ka Ghosla, we realize that it is of crucial importance to do that because it’s a film that would instinctively appeal to those in the north, like east Punjab, Delhi, UP.”

UTV will also be distributing the film in the national as well as international markets. Plans are to release approximately 150 prints worldwide.