Lessons from Komaram Puli

Komaram Puli is Pawan Kalyan's recent release after a lot of gap and his fans were waiting with bated breath. Backed with the team that made Kushi, which was a superhit, Komaram Puli had huge expectations. One of the die hard fans of Pawan, tells me that it is a dud. Reasons? Several. You would find some here.

I have few takeaways for you.

• Any brand or communication fails when it tries to build your expectations to insane level
  
• Too much delay in arriving at the threshold(3 years in this case), too much hype(I happened to watch the promos) might cause your audience, read customers, to expect a lot and nothing that is offered is acceptable
• The solution can be to hold back on the expectations and maintain a minimum level of curiosity and pitch when your customer expects it
• Holding back too much in your hand, in haze, makes me lose interest and when the actual thing happens, it hardly matters to me anymore

Pic

Zindagi Ka Saath

Ignore the smoking, the lyrics are too good. Here they go...

Maein Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Udata Chala Gaya

Barbadiyon Ka Shok Manana Fizul Tha
Barbadiyon Ka Jashan Manata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…

Jo Mil Gaya Usi Ko Muqaddar Samajh Liya
Jo Kho Gaya Maein Usko Bhulata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…

Gham Aur Khushi Mein Farq Na Mehsoos Ho Jahan
Maein Dil Ko Us Muqaam Pe Laata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…

Raavan

Raavan is released and is all set to become one of the biggest blockbusters of all times for it has all the elements needed to become one. Mani Ratnam, Shyam Kaushal, A R Rahman, the Bachchan ensemble, Gulzar and a lot of hype, PR and what not.

An interesting debate is about whom we would be primarily watching? Abhishek or Vikram. Most of the people I have seen are voting for Vikram, for better acting(?), experience and raw passion that is expected of the role. Poor Abhishek seems to be long way down the class in comparison. That's bad news for him and good for Vikram. Now that is a southside view and hopefully it differs as we go north. Good luck to the team of Raavan and here are 10 reasons why you should watch it. Anyone from the north, chip in with your views.

Brands losing in comparison have to be careful as to what they are being associated with. Being asociated with less mature equals less trust which translates to less chances of me, the consumer, picking your product up. Being associated with more mature, more trustworthy and more bankable, as Vikram stands for in this case(at least in the Southern belt), is very important as it means your brand has higher chances of being picked up. For Raavan, Vikram being in a Telugu/Tamil movie as the hero translates to better turnouts in the audience and better reception and that is what Mani wants to do. Good move Mani.

Pic is from here.

Top 10 in Hollywood

This weekend's top 10 is as follows:

1 - "Shrek Forever After," $71.2 million.
2 - "Iron Man 2," $26.6 million.
3 - "Robin Hood," $18.7 million.
4 - "Letters to Juliet," $9.1 million.
5 - "Just Wright," $4.2 million.
6 - "MacGruber," $4.1 million.
7 - "Date Night," $2.8 million.
8 - "A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)," $2.2 million.
9 - "How to Train Your Dragon," $1.8 million.
10 - "Kites," $1 million.

Nice to see Kites in the list.

Salesman of the year

Did you see the initial promos of Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year? It had a desk and Ranbir sitting on it and talking to you. "Hi, Harpreet Singh Bedi, salesman," he smiled at you. He then said that he would sell the movie to you - the audience - in 60 seconds flat and went on to tell you how the movie would give you complete value for money. He finished it with the statement - a salesman's job never ends.

You may have liked the promo, or thought of it as nothing great. But you have to give it to it for being so honest in its approach. Most movie promos aim to attract maximum viewers with shine and sparkle, or shock.

If they manage to hook you, you watch the film and then find out if the film lives up to your expectations or not. Here was a simple ad campaign asking you to give the movie a chance and then to make up your mind about it. The film, itself, is as simple as the ad campaign. But it's brilliant too.

Scraf it

I couldn’t help but notice this new trend amongst celebrity styles. I wanted to know what fashion critics think of this new trend of wearing mufflers during the hot Indian summers as a fashion statement. Being the superstar that he is, SRK can really influence people’s wardrobes.

Most of the anchors on the small screen are sporting these mufflers as if they had been operated nd were wearing a sling too. Let me know what you think?

Good films

Bollywood

1. Delhi 6
2. Billu
3. Dev D
4. Slumdog Crorepati (dubbed)
5. Kisse Pyaar Karoon?

Hollywood

1. Madea Goes to Jail
2. Jonas Brothers: 3D Concert
3. Slumdog Millionaire
4. Taken
5. He’s Just Not That Into You

--- Outlook

The problem with the name: Delhi 6

Did you watch about Delhi 6? Or even heard of it? Well the question is not about how the movie is. Its about how you read the first sentence of this post and the title. Delhi 6 speaks about an NRI kid coming to India to help fulfill his grandmother's wish of returning the soil to where it belongs (She wishes to die in India).  And the film is named Delhi-6, in english! What did u read it as? English?  What would have been a different approach is that ir should have named 'dilli ६ (Cheh)'. It would have gone in sync with the spirit and theme of the movie. When you want to communicate 'desi feel' in the product, the brand should be consistently 'desi' too.

Rahman's magic has now crossed the barriers and the effect is expected to be visible on the current music he gave for Dilli 6. Many are going to watch the movie to celebrate the wave of the Oscars and Rahman in general. Let the numbers come in and you will know.

Jai ho! in English

Check my attempt at translating Rahman's 'Jai Ho' to English at the end...

Jai ho! jai ho!
aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale
aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale
jai ho! jai ho!

ratti ratti sachi maine jaan gavayi hai
nach nach koylo pe raat bitayi hai
akhiyon ki neend maine phoonko se uda di
neele tare se maine ungli jalayi hai

aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale
aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale

chakh le ha chakh le ye raat shahad hai chakh le
rakh le ha dil hai dil aakhri had hai rakh le
kala kala kajal tera koi kala jadoo hai na

kala kala kajal tera koi kala jadoo hai na

aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale
aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale

jai ho jai ho
jai ho jai ho

kab se ha kab se tu lab pe ruki hai kah de
kah de ha kah de ab aankh jhuki hai kah de
aisi aisi roshan aankhe roshan dono bhi hai hai kya

aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale
aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale

jai ho... jai ho... jai ho... jai ho...

Here it goes (Do suggest if I got something wrong)...
Jai ho!
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!

Drop by drop I have lost my life in faith
I’ve passed this night dancing on fiery coals
I blew away the sleep that was in my eyes
I counted the stars till my finger burned

Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!

Taste it, taste it, this night is honey
Taste it, and keep it,
It’s a heart; the heart is the final limit
You dark black kohl
It’s some black magic, isn’t it?

Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!

For how long, how very long
It’s been on your lips
Say it, now say it
The eye is downcast
Such lit up eyes
Are they two lit-up dimaonds?
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky
Jai Ho!!!

Good luck Rahman for the Oscars!

Ghajini, the game!

It's not everyday that one comes across a game based on a Hindi movie, which in turn is based on a Tamil movie that was inspired from an English film. Ghajini the game is based on the Blockbuster Hindi film, Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan and is a worthy effort from FX Labs, the developers of the game. 

Throughout the game you have Aamir Khan's dull voice over directing you towards your next objective and giving you hints. The game developers in their quest to ape Max Payne's style and feel have made it very similar to Max Payne in terms of design and presentation, which isn't a bad decision, however, the execution lacks polish. 

Read the review here.

Smile Pinki

Will Pinki smile?

Jai Ho India

Don't bother about the controversies that surround the PILs on whether its slum dog or slum dash! Rahman's Jai Ho is ringing out at all places in Republic Day celebrations. Seems we have a new anthem. Its a good song. Perhaps you should watch Slumdog Millionaire! Happy Republic day.

Where is the party?

Indian film industry churns out more movies than Hollywood. So there is a high chance that any of the movies released would be missed in the clutter. So what do you need to do to stay on top and reach that audience you are targeting? Here many movies miss out on what they are targeting and try to be everything to everyone and turn out being nothing to anyone. And no wonder Prof. Ray mocks the creativity of Indian Cinema. The lack on genuine acting, story and ability to show real stuff in an interesting way is clearly.

But there are exceptions. Some films do ensure they get noticed by going for clear segments of audience. Have a number that will be played a zillion times in all pubs and parties, hit that note of mass audience with a lot of beat, slithery sensous dance and the traditional theen mar and chances are that you will be noted. No one cares what the lyrics are as long as they can count on the trance they get from the beat. Here is a song from Silambattam which is the present top list in Tamilnadu and slowly catching up with pub audience all over south India.

So where is the party?