Bollywood never stops in the strenuous race of business and boy, we are glad they don’t! Decoding the unique PR marketing strategies, we come up with Part 2 of our series by focusing on this week’s release: Karwaan
The movie has the most inquisitive cast and that caught interest among all. Mollywood star, Dulquer Salmaan (aka DQ), is all set for his Bollywood debut and will be sharing the screen with veteran actor Irrfan Khan and Internet viral phenomenon, Mithila Palkar. Karwaan, directed by Akarsh Khurana also features Kriti Kharbanda and Amala Akkineni.
Karwaan is a story of a road trip from Bangalore to Kochi to collect a dead body. Here are some of the interesting strategies that the crew used to maintain the suspense:
First Look
Interestingly, it was Jurassic World star Irrfan Khan who took to social media to share the poster of Karwaan. Recuperating from multiple cycles of chemotherapy in London after discovering that he was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour, Irrfan Khan used the curiosity around his ailment to gain more traction to the first look. The other co-stars too shared the poster on Twitter and Instagram.
The first quirky poster comes with an intriguing slogan: ‘3 lost souls 2 dead bodies a journey of a lifetime’. It featured Dulquer, Mithila, and Irrfan sharing a light moment while drinking tender coconut water, with a yellow car next to them. Dulquer also sports a pair of nerdy glasses.
The second poster then released, was also pretty lively with an amalgamation of a lot of factors in it. We see an elephant, a train, a car which was part of our existence for a long time and a coffin as well. The film thus will have a lot of hues and that makes it all the more gripping. The film revolves around the lives of three oddballs from different walks of life who are thrown together on a bizarre journey. Each character undertakes the journey only to find the order in their lives.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlS7_tSAVLV/?taken-by=dulquer_loverz
Promotional Events
After the posters, teasers, trailer and its music tracks, Dulquer and Mithila started promoting their upcoming movie all around Mumbai. However, Irrfan has been missing in action due to his treatment.
Ahead of the film’s release, both the actors recreated the scenes from the movie, in their road trip from Mumbai to Lonavala. Dulquer and Mithila joined the road trip trend to bring a new touch in promotions and also to hang out with fans. The event ended with actors indulging in some fun-filled activities. While Dulquer was at his best celebrating his pre-birthday, Mithila was seen frying batata vada’s on the street as the duo took a village walk later.
People across the country dedicated their road trips to the upcoming movie, by tagging the movie star cast on Instagram, using various hashtags, #KarwaanDiaries and #MonsoonKarwaan among a few.
For their Hyderabad promotional campaign, Dulquer decided to take the cast and crew out for delicious South Indian food.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlNSFmvg0so/?taken-by=dulquer_loverz
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlNpRVhAOJR/?taken-by=dulquer_loverz
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Irrfan Khan Factor
The actors clear missed Irrfan in every promotional event, which was evident in their interviews. They both had only good wishes for the ailing star.
Mithila said, ‘It was extremely heartbreaking to hear this (Irrfan’s illness) but all our love and prayers are with him. He is a fighter. Hope we see him very soon. These promotions are completely incomplete without him. He brings the most vibrant and refreshing flavour of him in Karwaan’.
She spoke about her experience of working with both Irrfan and Dulquer. ‘It took me a while for me to understand that I was acting with them. I had to pinch and remind myself that I am their co-actors. Initially, it was intimidating. There was a little bit of a pressure but they did not make me feel like that. The minute we were on the sets it all went away. I was in awe of them,’ she gushed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlAKcCAg9Gg/?taken-by=dulquer_loverz
Glam Quotient
Mithila’s girl-next-door image slips on perfectly with her breezy casual sartorial tastes and is refreshingly different enough to catch our eyes. She kept her look simple, donning plain yet casual attires for the promotional events.
Dulquer also tapped on the casual vibe for the promotions. DQ wore a white tee, paired it with Khaki pants, oozing a spunky vibe with a denim jacket. We love how the now-closed staple white sneakers from Adidas, teamed well with that well-groomed mane and beard.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlNm1dtAv8d/?taken-by=dulquer_loverz
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlNUk6xg5wd/?taken-by=dulquer_loverz
Besides the marketing gimmicks, the movie itself is pretty compelling. The plot teases of an edgy alliance is formed between three unlikely co-passengers on a lively journey from Bangalore to Ooty to Kumarakom and finally to Kochi. Directed by Akarsh Khurana and produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s, the movie is slated to release on 3rd August 2018.
