Star attraction

The rising TRPs of Indian telly shows are now attracting Bollywood celebs who shed their inhibitions and appear on idiot box to promote their films.

You are watching your favourite saas bahu soap. The moment is high on drama and all eyes in your living room are on the television set. Anything can happen now, either the bahu will slap her ever conspiring sister in law or a major twist in the storyline is on the anvil. Suddenly, a familiar face from the ‘Hindi Film Industry’ walks in, adding unusual twists to the otherwise straight and expected storyline. Last time when I was flipping through channels on television on a lazy Saturday afternoon, something caught my eye. I stopped to watch a famous crime serial that has been running on television ever since the cable mania struck our chords, and still it garners high TRPs. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar suddenly popped in to the scene with his co-star Sonakshi Sinha from movie Rowdy Rathore to save a couple from a group of goons. The trend of Bollywood actors stepping in to the television shows is the latest buzzword as far as promotion of a film is concerned.

Promotion galore
Over the last decade, Indian television has undergone a transition making the home entertainment go glitzy and glamorous. Of course, the larger than life drama of television soaps is enough to keep the viewers glued to their television screens. Since Indian television is now focusing more and more on progressive stories, dance and music competitions, there’s a dose of reality television that we also get on television today.

Today when the world is raving about the kind of films the Indian film industry is churning out, brand creators and promotion honchos are adopting newer ways to promote the latest Bollywood offering. Gone are the days release of a film would only mean seeing tit-bits of the rushes or a few incomplete songs or at the most non collaborated scenes from the making of the movie. As we all know the film industry brims with a whirl of talent, there’s no doubt some high intensity whirl of talent that takes care of the promotion aspect. Today, when a film is promoted we as audience get to see the amalgamation of one dream factory with the other. The confluence of film industry and the television makes up for a perfect promotional strategy.

Star power
We have seen a visibly pregnant Vidya Bagchi aka Vidya Balan appear on the sets of Uttaran, engaging in a conversation with the protagonist of the show. Balan appeared on the show to promote her film Kahaani. Similarly, we’ve seen Kareena Kapoor promoting her latest release Heroine on the sets of Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashmah, dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Ja and Comedy Circus. In an endeavour to tap the television audience, the Heroine team appeared on shows that are telecast on different channels. There’s hardly any actor who has not been seen on television to promote his film. Sridevi recently was seen shaking a leg with Madhuri Dixit on Jhalak Dikhla Ja and even engaged in crucial conversations with Big B on Kaun Banega Crorepati, all this to promote her film English Vinglish. Sridevi faced camera after a decade so it became evident that she will come out in full swing to promote her film, and she did just that. Result, her film became a hit.

Telly buzz
The dream factory that is the television is more often surreal than the magic it creates on celluloid. For television actors and their audience, promotion of a film is an important value add concept. The plot of a television soap is projected in a way that it fetches rising TRPs. And when a bit of glam quotient of the Bollywood is added in to the drama packed performances, TRP projections raise. According to industry experts, television is constantly evolving with its offerings and people get to watch cultures and traditions that are manifold. And to keep a tab with viewers’ aspirations, both television and films are utilizing the opportunity to show off some of their best offerings together. That’s precisely the reason why today majority of A-list Bollywood celebs throng various television shows to promote their films. Trade experts also believe that such sequences are introduced before a particular film is about to release. Bollywood celebs keep entering your living room through the idiot box throughout the year.

This happens especially when the television shows are shooting for an event or anniversary scenes. “Bollywood actors are more popular than small screen actors so they are recognized through the daily soap while the former is universally popular. This is why the serial makers rope in Bollywood icons to play a small part in the program. They generally make guest appearances and take the applause of great publicity for their film. Similarly, if Bollywood celebs are blamed to drive TRP ratings then there is no fault in that more over it has its positive side first of all the TV programs which showcases entry of a Bollywood star gains instant popularity and secondly the thespian gets an opportunity to promote his movie.”

Bollywood celebs on TV
Rani Mukherjee, Salman Khan along with Katrina Kaif appeared on Jhalak Dikhla Ja for their films Aiyyaa and Ek Tha Tiger respectively.
Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza appeared on Dance India Dance
Kareena Kapoor appeared on Comedy Circus
Sonakshi Sinha entered Big Bosses house