That cricket and movies are the country’s two biggest passions is an understatement. And, one has been known to ride on the back of the other whenever required. So, it was no surprise, really, to hear that the teaser of the Sanjay Dutt biopic would be launched during a pre-match show to be aired on field and on the channel broadcasting the match, on April 24. Considering that this has never been done before during an IPL match, it is being viewed as a coup of sorts by the film’s public relations team. It will be a 30-minute programme where Ranbir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Rajkumar Hirani come together to talk about the film.
Choosing the IPL does make business sense considering it is a huge revenue grosser, thanks to it being more entertainment than sport. Sanjay Dutt, too, had an ephemeral connection with the IPL, when he had once evinced interest in buying a team. That did not work out, however.
What’s interesting to note though is that not all films promoted on the cricket pitch, so to speak, have cashed in at the box office. Here’s a look at some movies that did get great mileage through cricket but which did not translate into ticket sales.
Dum Maaro Dum (2011)
The music of this Rohan Sippy film was launched with its entire cast, including Deepika Padukone, who had just one item number, during the India-South Africa World Cup tie in Nagpur.
The match saw Sachin Tendulkar score a century but the movie that released soon after scored a duck.
Ra.One (2011)
We all know how Ra.One still holds the title of being the most exhaustively marketed Bollywood movie. It was also the most expensive Bollywood film made till then, so SRK going into overdrive was understandable. Among the promotions was the launch of the first look of the film at the quarter-final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. India beat Australia in the match and the first look was talked about across the country. At the box office, though, the film barely made a dent. A couple of distributors and a few exhibitors even lost money.
Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara (2013)
A sequel to the super successful Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, this film rode on a lot of hype. And, given that the film was based on the life of Dawood Ibrahim’s who, allegedly, has some history with cricket, the team thought it would be fun to promote it at the IPL. Sadly, though, they faced some rather interesting hurdles. The team, despite wishing to be a part of the opening ceremony, could not make it because allegedly Shah Rukh Khan blocked their effort. They then flew to Kolkata “as cricket lovers”, all wearing T-shirts screaming the name of their film, to watch a match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils. Ironically, owing to a rule of not promoting films during a cricket match, those watching the match on TV didn’t see any of it. The fate of the film was no better. It barely got watched.
Bombay Velvet (2015)
Anurag Kashyap’s dream movie, made on a budget of '140 crore, was a much anticipated film. To build the momentum, the trailer of the film was launched during the quarter-final match of the Cricket World Cup, 2015. Ranbir, in fact, had turned commentator for the match played between India and Bangladesh. We all know the fate of the film.
Shamitabh 2015
Ranbir Kapoor was the not the first celebrity commentator during the 2015 World Cup. He had actually followed in the footsteps of Amitabh Bachchan, who was a commentator during the India-Pakistan match. Unfortunately for him, while people enjoyed his commentary, his film Shamitabh, which rode on his deep baritone, did not sustain at the theatres.
Azhar (2016)
Owing to the film’s direct link to cricket, the makers of Azhar, starring Emraan Hashmi, decided to launch its first look — even before the film was shot — during the IPL Extraaa Innings. And, later, Emraan and Nargis Fakhri reached a Pune Supergiants-Mumbai Indians match in Pune to promote the film just before its release. Some lovely photo-opportunities did work out for the fans and photographers, but the film tanked, miserably, with distributors losing big money.
The Exceptions
Mr India (1987)
There are of course some success stories as well — proving that there are always exceptions to the rule. The biggest among these was Anil Kapoor-starrer Mr India. The producer of the film, Boney Kapoor, created history back in 1987, when he became the first person to use cricket to promote his film. Anil was flown to the Sharjah cricket stadium for a match, where he walked on to the ground in his Mr India get-up and tossed the coin. In another match, this time in Mumbai, Kapoor landed in a helicopter, yet again in his Mr India get-up, and tossed the coin. The film created history.
Chennai Express (2013)
Shah Rukh Khan launched the promo of his Chennai Express during the final match of the IPL 2013. The film still remains SRK’s biggest grosser and a major hit.
