MUMBAIL Innovative marketing has become an integral part of film promotions nowadays and UTV Motion Pictures carries forward the trend by roping in B-school students to design marketing campaign for its upcoming film "Barfi!"

"The idea behind roping in the students from top B-schools was to attract young audience. The film is targetted towards youth and what better way than to have young minds to create the marketing campaign. It is exciting to get young minds and their unique thinking together," Shikha Kapur, senior vice president, marketing, UTV Motion Pictures, told IANS.

UTV launched a nation-wide hunt to get students from key business schools.

"A lot of brainstorming went into the whole thing. We received entries from 35 colleges and we shortlisted 20. It was further brought down to six, and of them two have been chosen as winners. During the quest, we have come across some very creative minds," Kapur said. Students from Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, were the winners and IIT Delhi students were the first runner-up.

Directed by Anurag Basu, the film starring Ranbir Kapoor as deaf-mute boy and Priyanka Chopra as an autistic girl will release July 13.

There is a popular belief that "Barfi" is slow paced and full of melodrama which might be heavy on audience. But Ranbir dispels the notion describing it as a fun, family film and as a romantic thriller.

"It’s about two dysfunctional people who bond together in the nicest of rela­tionship, one that is sweet, touching and heart-warming," said the actor.