Directors, sometimes the suspense can... kill the film
Mollywood now uses the surprise element to pique audiences's curiosity
By : priya sreekumar
Update: 2014-04-24 17:34 GMT
Kochi: Remember the secrecy surrounding the film Dhoom 3 in Bollywood? Reportedly, the cast and technicians were made to sign a bond promising not to reveal any details of the film! The innate curiosity about the film’s plot did lead to advance bookings and pulled in the crucial FDFS crowd that set the cash registers ringing. Mollywood is now following suit. Some of the recent films are keeping storylines and plots under wraps and letting out only small teasers to lure the audience. Unfortunately, this strategy has not always succeeded. Some of the films featuring titans of the industry, shrouded in secrecy have sunk like the Titanic.
If we take forthcoming films like How Old Are You, Mr Fraud, Bangalore Days, Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeeviyanu and Peruchazi have only revealed the basic theme and the genre and nothing more about the plot details.
One film that seems to have benefited from a marketing strategy that believes in revealing little has been 7th Day, directed by debutant Syam Dhar. The film being a thriller about a suspended IPS officer investigating a case was the only fact known about the film. The two teasers, lasting only seconds each, reveals little. Syam says that it was intentional! He explains, “It is an experimental thriller film, and not a normal thriller, so we did not want the audience to raise their expectations. If you watch the film, you will notice that every dialogue, expression and the song gives crucial hints about the movie’s climax.” Syam points out, “We consciously did not show any song or visuals to the media, except the 30 second teasers that we put out to gauge audience response, which was very encouraging. It is only in the coming week that the songs and visuals will be aired.” The gamble seems to have paid off.
Mammootty-starrer Gangster was a much hyped film whose first look was revealed just weeks prior to the film’s release and other than the fact that it was the story of the Don Akbar Ali Khan seeking revenge, the makers chose to keep the plot a secret. The film did not set the box office on fire. Ahmed Sidhique, the scriptwriter, says, “The basic outline was there. I believe that what is essential should only be revealed and we did not encourage any media on the sets. But we were not planning on suing anybody if the plot was revealed either! The core team did not want anybody to know the plot.”
Mithun Manuel, fresh from the success of Om Shanti Oshana, is onto his next project titled Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeeviyanu and has his characters standing with their back to the camera. He opines, “We have announced that a goat is the central character of our film and that has generated curiosity from a marketing point of view. If the plot of the movie is revealed then there will be no freshness to the storyline, so a certain amount of secrecy about the plot is good.”
The political satire Peruchazhi has also been upping the curiosity ante. Vijay Babu, of Friday Film House, says, “We have mentioned that it is a political satire and is a spoof. We do not believe in hiding everything but reveal only what is essential. We at Friday Film House believe that the genre and the mood of the film should be revealed and all our films have revealed their genre clearly.”
Jeethu Joseph’s blockbuster film Drishyam had not revealed too much about the storyline. Jeethu opines, “I believe in being open with the audience. Drishyam was never a thriller film, but a family movie, so the promotions were done keeping that in mind. Certain unexpected twists can take the audience to a higher level and this is what happened in the storyline.” He quips, “Isn’t it always better to go without any expectations to see a movie?” Well, mum is the word!