Tag: Rajinikanth

  • Regional films fared better in ’16 in terms of online booking

    Regional films fared better in ’16 in terms of online booking

    NEW DELHI: Regional films did exceptionally well at the box office in 2016 and Malayalam cinema particularly a major rise, if one is to go by online bookings for tickets.

    Online movie ticketing for Malayalam cinema showed over 80 per cent growth as compared to in 2015, according to tickets sold by online entertainment ticketing brand BookMyShow.

    However, the Rajinikanth starrer Kabali (Tamil) was the only regional film that made it to BookMyShow’s Top 10. The Shahrukh Khan starrer Fan was ranked 14th

    While Kabali (Telugu) was the most sold regional film, Natsamrat (Marathi) was the top rated

    Thus, regional and even Hollywood films did well during 2016 apart from Bollywood, according to the ticketing brand.

    This was directly mirrored through millions of ratings and reviews that BookMyShow received on its platform this year.

    While Sunday remains the best day of the week to watch a film and Friday to Sunday are the preferred days by cinegoers, 2016 threw up a surprise when Monday proved to be the fourth most popular film-watching day in comparison to 2015 when Thursday had reserved this honour.

    Viewers generally preferred a 7:00 pm show on any given day of the week but the most perfect day and time combination for movie watching was Saturday at 10:00 pm.

    Only four Hindi and English films rated in the top 10, while al the other spots were grabbed by regional films

    The trailer of Sultan was most rated on BookMyShow, followed by M S Dhoni- The Untold Story

    This year, BookMyShow also compiled a list of its favourites in four categories:

    Cult- Among others, a movie that left a long lasting impression on BookMyShow and the editor was Miss Peregrines’s Home for Peculiar Children; Debutants as 2016 saw some noteworthy performances by new talent such as Waluscha De Sousa in Fan opposite Shahrukh Khan and Harshvardhan Kapoor in Mirzya; Dialogue- Movie buffs came across quite a few memorable dialogues this year. One of them definitely was Aishwarya Rai’s “Main kisi ki zaroorat nahi, khwaish ban-na chahti hoon” from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil; and Movers and Shakers – Among the ones who definitely made a huge impact to the films was definitely Dwayne Johnson who made the headlines all year long in 2016 for his act in Moana.

    BookMyShow Co-founder & Director Parikshit Dar said, “As we near the end of 2016, we decided to revisit their truly incredible 2016 journey with us and summarize their year at the movies. Our objective has always been to enrich the user experience by smartly using technology, while enhancing content discovery on BookMyShow. In this regard, our comprehensive reviews and ratings platform, which has also established itself as an industry yardstick to evaluate a film’s popularity, has played an instrumental role in further assisting viewers in making informed decisions while transacting on BookMyShow. The year 2017 already looks promising with some great line content already lined up and we are excited to embark upon the New Year with our users.”

    Detailed results:

    public://movies-top10.jpg

  • Regional films fared better in ’16 in terms of online booking

    Regional films fared better in ’16 in terms of online booking

    NEW DELHI: Regional films did exceptionally well at the box office in 2016 and Malayalam cinema particularly a major rise, if one is to go by online bookings for tickets.

    Online movie ticketing for Malayalam cinema showed over 80 per cent growth as compared to in 2015, according to tickets sold by online entertainment ticketing brand BookMyShow.

    However, the Rajinikanth starrer Kabali (Tamil) was the only regional film that made it to BookMyShow’s Top 10. The Shahrukh Khan starrer Fan was ranked 14th

    While Kabali (Telugu) was the most sold regional film, Natsamrat (Marathi) was the top rated

    Thus, regional and even Hollywood films did well during 2016 apart from Bollywood, according to the ticketing brand.

    This was directly mirrored through millions of ratings and reviews that BookMyShow received on its platform this year.

    While Sunday remains the best day of the week to watch a film and Friday to Sunday are the preferred days by cinegoers, 2016 threw up a surprise when Monday proved to be the fourth most popular film-watching day in comparison to 2015 when Thursday had reserved this honour.

    Viewers generally preferred a 7:00 pm show on any given day of the week but the most perfect day and time combination for movie watching was Saturday at 10:00 pm.

    Only four Hindi and English films rated in the top 10, while al the other spots were grabbed by regional films

    The trailer of Sultan was most rated on BookMyShow, followed by M S Dhoni- The Untold Story

    This year, BookMyShow also compiled a list of its favourites in four categories:

    Cult- Among others, a movie that left a long lasting impression on BookMyShow and the editor was Miss Peregrines’s Home for Peculiar Children; Debutants as 2016 saw some noteworthy performances by new talent such as Waluscha De Sousa in Fan opposite Shahrukh Khan and Harshvardhan Kapoor in Mirzya; Dialogue- Movie buffs came across quite a few memorable dialogues this year. One of them definitely was Aishwarya Rai’s “Main kisi ki zaroorat nahi, khwaish ban-na chahti hoon” from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil; and Movers and Shakers – Among the ones who definitely made a huge impact to the films was definitely Dwayne Johnson who made the headlines all year long in 2016 for his act in Moana.

    BookMyShow Co-founder & Director Parikshit Dar said, “As we near the end of 2016, we decided to revisit their truly incredible 2016 journey with us and summarize their year at the movies. Our objective has always been to enrich the user experience by smartly using technology, while enhancing content discovery on BookMyShow. In this regard, our comprehensive reviews and ratings platform, which has also established itself as an industry yardstick to evaluate a film’s popularity, has played an instrumental role in further assisting viewers in making informed decisions while transacting on BookMyShow. The year 2017 already looks promising with some great line content already lined up and we are excited to embark upon the New Year with our users.”

    Detailed results:

    public://movies-top10.jpg

  • #YouTubeRewind: Celebrating what India watched & shared

    #YouTubeRewind: Celebrating what India watched & shared

    MUMBAI: 2016 was the year when sidekick became the superhero – yes you guessed it right – Kabali ruled the charts to become top trending movie trailer. Kapil Sharma show featuring Salman Khan got company from our very own YouTube stars of The Viral Fever playing truth or dare with dad and All India Bakchod’s honest portrayal of bars and restaurants as the top trending video’s of the year. Entertainment aside, we were also most curious to know about the GPS chip in the new 2000 rupees note.

    As 2016 is coming to an end, and you know what that means….it’s time for #YouTubeRewind.

    This year, more than 200 YouTube stars from 18 countries accepted our Ultimate 2016 Rewind Challenge to pay homage to the biggest videos, memes, channels, songs, and pop culture moments of the year. Keep an eye out for some pretty epic surprise guests. Oh, and we got Major Lazer to help us out with an original mix too.

    We’re excited to announce the top trending videos, music videos and bollywood trailers from 2016, according to time spent watching, sharing, commenting, liking and more. From Kapil Sharma, TVF, AIB and behind the scene video of Shah Rukh Khan becoming the FAN, this year’s top trending videos represent the amazing variety of creativity shared on YouTube every day.

    Collectively, the top 10 videos have 70 million views and the channels who make them have more than 45 million subscribers who tune in regularly to  watch the funny, insightful, entertaining content they create/ upload, a blog posted by YouTube head of entertainment partnerships Satya Raghavan, stated.

    Top trending videos:

    The Kapil Sharma Show: Sultan

    The Voice India Kids: Ayat Shaikh

    Crime Patrol Dial 100: Andhkaar

    Complete truth of Rs 2000 notes with a chip embedded in it

    TVF: Truth or Dare with Dad

    TVF’s Permanent Roommates: The Parents

    AIB : Honest Bars & Restaurants

    Life Sahi Hai:  The Maid

    How Shah Rukh Khan Became The FAN – Gaurav

    AIB Diwas:  Zakir Khan

    In Music, 2016 seemed to be all about Kala Chashma with 45 million views, and ‘kar gayi chull’ and baby ‘ko base pasand hai’ taking the next slots. 

    Top music videos:

    Kala Chashma:  Baar Baar Dekho

    Kar Gayi Chull: Kapoor & Sons

    Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai:  Sultan

    Bulleya: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

    Cham Cham: Baaghi

    GF BF: T-Series

    Hua hain Aaj Pehli Baar: Sanam Re

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

    Jabra:Fan

    The Breakup Song: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

    In movies, Rajinikanth as Kabali went viral with Aamir Khan’s Dangal and Salman Khan’s Sultan following closely behind. The biopic of MS Dhoni featuring Sushant Singh Rajput was also a huge hit.

    Top movie trailers:

    Kabali Tamil Movie

    Dangal

    Sultan

    M.S.Dhoni – The Untold Story

    Shivaay

    Befikre

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

    Fan

    Baaghi

    Dishoom

    From an ads perspective, it is quite evident from the YouTube Leaderboard 2016 that several brands chose to create long format ads for a primarily digital-first audience. In fact, seven out of top 10 most watched ads in 2016 were over 90 seconds long. And audiences too were willing to invest their time and attention on ads that are narrative-driven and take a storytelling approach. #Dettolsheronkepanje was the most viewed ads for 2016 with close to 13 million views, and #Ranveerchingreturns and Amazon’s#ApniDukaan taking the next spots.

    Most viewed ads:

    Dettol Sheron ke Panje – #MaaMaane Dettol Ka Dhula

    Ranveer Ching Returns

    Amazon #ApniDukaan

    Doublemint #StartSomethingFresh

    Ola Micro Stories

    Bajaj V – The Invincible

    Makemytrip #BefikarBookKar – Taxi

    #NothingDirty Anthem ft. Badshah

    Amazon#MomBeAGirlAgain

    Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

  • #YouTubeRewind: Celebrating what India watched & shared

    #YouTubeRewind: Celebrating what India watched & shared

    MUMBAI: 2016 was the year when sidekick became the superhero – yes you guessed it right – Kabali ruled the charts to become top trending movie trailer. Kapil Sharma show featuring Salman Khan got company from our very own YouTube stars of The Viral Fever playing truth or dare with dad and All India Bakchod’s honest portrayal of bars and restaurants as the top trending video’s of the year. Entertainment aside, we were also most curious to know about the GPS chip in the new 2000 rupees note.

    As 2016 is coming to an end, and you know what that means….it’s time for #YouTubeRewind.

    This year, more than 200 YouTube stars from 18 countries accepted our Ultimate 2016 Rewind Challenge to pay homage to the biggest videos, memes, channels, songs, and pop culture moments of the year. Keep an eye out for some pretty epic surprise guests. Oh, and we got Major Lazer to help us out with an original mix too.

    We’re excited to announce the top trending videos, music videos and bollywood trailers from 2016, according to time spent watching, sharing, commenting, liking and more. From Kapil Sharma, TVF, AIB and behind the scene video of Shah Rukh Khan becoming the FAN, this year’s top trending videos represent the amazing variety of creativity shared on YouTube every day.

    Collectively, the top 10 videos have 70 million views and the channels who make them have more than 45 million subscribers who tune in regularly to  watch the funny, insightful, entertaining content they create/ upload, a blog posted by YouTube head of entertainment partnerships Satya Raghavan, stated.

    Top trending videos:

    The Kapil Sharma Show: Sultan

    The Voice India Kids: Ayat Shaikh

    Crime Patrol Dial 100: Andhkaar

    Complete truth of Rs 2000 notes with a chip embedded in it

    TVF: Truth or Dare with Dad

    TVF’s Permanent Roommates: The Parents

    AIB : Honest Bars & Restaurants

    Life Sahi Hai:  The Maid

    How Shah Rukh Khan Became The FAN – Gaurav

    AIB Diwas:  Zakir Khan

    In Music, 2016 seemed to be all about Kala Chashma with 45 million views, and ‘kar gayi chull’ and baby ‘ko base pasand hai’ taking the next slots. 

    Top music videos:

    Kala Chashma:  Baar Baar Dekho

    Kar Gayi Chull: Kapoor & Sons

    Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai:  Sultan

    Bulleya: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

    Cham Cham: Baaghi

    GF BF: T-Series

    Hua hain Aaj Pehli Baar: Sanam Re

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

    Jabra:Fan

    The Breakup Song: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

    In movies, Rajinikanth as Kabali went viral with Aamir Khan’s Dangal and Salman Khan’s Sultan following closely behind. The biopic of MS Dhoni featuring Sushant Singh Rajput was also a huge hit.

    Top movie trailers:

    Kabali Tamil Movie

    Dangal

    Sultan

    M.S.Dhoni – The Untold Story

    Shivaay

    Befikre

    Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

    Fan

    Baaghi

    Dishoom

    From an ads perspective, it is quite evident from the YouTube Leaderboard 2016 that several brands chose to create long format ads for a primarily digital-first audience. In fact, seven out of top 10 most watched ads in 2016 were over 90 seconds long. And audiences too were willing to invest their time and attention on ads that are narrative-driven and take a storytelling approach. #Dettolsheronkepanje was the most viewed ads for 2016 with close to 13 million views, and #Ranveerchingreturns and Amazon’s#ApniDukaan taking the next spots.

    Most viewed ads:

    Dettol Sheron ke Panje – #MaaMaane Dettol Ka Dhula

    Ranveer Ching Returns

    Amazon #ApniDukaan

    Doublemint #StartSomethingFresh

    Ola Micro Stories

    Bajaj V – The Invincible

    Makemytrip #BefikarBookKar – Taxi

    #NothingDirty Anthem ft. Badshah

    Amazon#MomBeAGirlAgain

    Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

  • Box Office: Rajinikanth’s ‘Kabali’ opens weak; ‘Sultan’ continues to earn big

    Box Office: Rajinikanth’s ‘Kabali’ opens weak; ‘Sultan’ continues to earn big

    MUMBAI: Madaari, starring Irrfan Khan and Jimmy Shergill, was expected to draw a fair number of viewers as both enjoy a good following. The film in itself did not provide anything new and came across as a mix of few recent films. Also, for a film aimed at the multiplex audience, the title, Madaari, sounded quite outlandish!

    Not able to raise curiosity, the film managed a weak opening at the box office not improving thereafter to end its opening weekend with Rs 8.3 crore.

    *M Cream went unnoticed.

    *Kabali (Hindi-Dubbed from Tamil), gets a lot of media hype with the media not bothering about Rajinikanth films vis a vis Hindi film audience; in that, he commands no following here as such, neither in dubbed films nor he did in original Hindi films.

    Also, filmmaking has moved on which includes the South Indian industry. The concepts have changed now and filmmaking has become technology oriented as special effects have become easier to incorporate. In such an event, you wonder at Kabali which sells the same Rajinikanth being sold since decades; only, here he is much diluted one thanks to age. The film has no gimmickry or gestures associated with Rajinikanth and hand to hand fights are avoided. Compare this to another south Indian film Bahubali,with its youthful star cast, larger than life canvass and special effect wizardry. No use taking viewers for granted, even Rajini fans.

    Since the ticket buying moviegoer is immune to such hypes, the film had a low opening response with footfalls varying from 10/15 per cent to 25 per cent and the figures reflecting the fact. The film collected about 3 crore on day one with a negligible raise on days two and three.

    The film collected Rs. 12.7 crore for its opening weekend despite an extensive release with over 1000 screens.

    *Great Grand Masti fails to add much to its opening weekend figures of 7.8 crore. With the rest of the four days of the week collecting just Rs 4.7 crore to take its first week total to Rs 12.5 crore.

    *With an open field and Salman as main attraction, Sultan continues to hold its own as the film collects Rs 277.96 crore at the end of its second week (16 days. The film adds another Rs 11.09 crore for its third weekend taking its 19 day total to Rs 289.05 crore.

  • Box Office: Rajinikanth’s ‘Kabali’ opens weak; ‘Sultan’ continues to earn big

    Box Office: Rajinikanth’s ‘Kabali’ opens weak; ‘Sultan’ continues to earn big

    MUMBAI: Madaari, starring Irrfan Khan and Jimmy Shergill, was expected to draw a fair number of viewers as both enjoy a good following. The film in itself did not provide anything new and came across as a mix of few recent films. Also, for a film aimed at the multiplex audience, the title, Madaari, sounded quite outlandish!

    Not able to raise curiosity, the film managed a weak opening at the box office not improving thereafter to end its opening weekend with Rs 8.3 crore.

    *M Cream went unnoticed.

    *Kabali (Hindi-Dubbed from Tamil), gets a lot of media hype with the media not bothering about Rajinikanth films vis a vis Hindi film audience; in that, he commands no following here as such, neither in dubbed films nor he did in original Hindi films.

    Also, filmmaking has moved on which includes the South Indian industry. The concepts have changed now and filmmaking has become technology oriented as special effects have become easier to incorporate. In such an event, you wonder at Kabali which sells the same Rajinikanth being sold since decades; only, here he is much diluted one thanks to age. The film has no gimmickry or gestures associated with Rajinikanth and hand to hand fights are avoided. Compare this to another south Indian film Bahubali,with its youthful star cast, larger than life canvass and special effect wizardry. No use taking viewers for granted, even Rajini fans.

    Since the ticket buying moviegoer is immune to such hypes, the film had a low opening response with footfalls varying from 10/15 per cent to 25 per cent and the figures reflecting the fact. The film collected about 3 crore on day one with a negligible raise on days two and three.

    The film collected Rs. 12.7 crore for its opening weekend despite an extensive release with over 1000 screens.

    *Great Grand Masti fails to add much to its opening weekend figures of 7.8 crore. With the rest of the four days of the week collecting just Rs 4.7 crore to take its first week total to Rs 12.5 crore.

    *With an open field and Salman as main attraction, Sultan continues to hold its own as the film collects Rs 277.96 crore at the end of its second week (16 days. The film adds another Rs 11.09 crore for its third weekend taking its 19 day total to Rs 289.05 crore.

  • ‘Kabali’… For loyal fans only

    ‘Kabali’… For loyal fans only

    MUMBAI: One might wonder what exactly does ‘Kabali’ mean? But who cares what it means literally—as long as Rajinikanth portrays the role of Kabali, that itself gives the word and the film a meaning. A Rajini film has to have action. It must make him look infallible, a larger than life human being. It must project him as a family loving and caring man. The film should also project his philanthropic side and as a man who is always ready to do his bit for the downtrodden and suppressed.

    While Kabali makes sure to incorporate all these (from what could be gathered from its Hindi dubbed version), it also has to keep in mind that Rajini is in his mid-60s and his action has to be so designed as to not show his age. The makers also need to keep in mind the fact that the recent Rajini films have not quite met with the expectations of his fans and, hence, of the box office. To give the film a more universally acceptable look and feel, the story and all the action takes place in Malayasia.

    As the film opens, Rajini is being set free from a jail after serving a 25-year sentence. And, you lose half the confidence in your super hero for as far as you are concerned, he is not the kind to be locked up behind cell doors!

    There was a gang war where a huge massacre was taking place but, when the police arrive, Rajini is caught red-handed while his opponents vanished from the scene just in time to avoid being caught. Now that Rajini is coming out, it is time to resume the gang wars. Rajini has made it to this status from a union leader at a rubber plantation where circumstances made him take to crime. Mainly, he had to safeguard his own Dalit people. He starts with breaking taboos by dressing up in a smart suit and shoes. That is his idea of defiance.

    Rajini’s mentor, Naser, is killed by the Chinese gangsters because while the Chinese indulged in drugs and flesh trade, Naser was against it. Rajini takes over his place to continue the crusade. Meanwhile, Rajini also wants to avenge the deaths of his wife, Radhika Apte, and daughter, Dhansika who was yet to born.

    The first half of the film passes with little happening save for a couple of gang shootouts as both parties take turns to raid their opponent. It is at the close of first half that Rajini meets the daughter he presumed dead. She is a grown up lady now who has been shadowing her father with an intent to protect him if need be.

    As the second half starts, most parts are devoted to reuniting the family after which, the Chinese gang resumes its attacks. Each time, Rajini either manages to survive or outsmart the enemy. This goes on till the final showdown where, at a terrace party, Rajini is caught unarmed and alone. But, as it turns out, he is not alone and most of those around pretending to be the catering staff at the party are his men! The crossfire starts and you can’t make out who is shooting who, nor do you care. The last duel between the Chinese villain, Winston Chao (a Taiwanese actor) and Rajini also avoids hand to hand which used to be the hero’s forte. After all, you can’t challenge age. Our audience love Pakistan-bashing and, with this movie, it seems they will also come to love some Chinese bashing!

    Kabali is all about Rajinikanth and nothing else. The script is routine while the direction is patchy. Dialogue loses much of its appeal and claps in Hindi as do songs. Photography is good. Performances are okay.

    Kabali created hype and expectations being a Rajinikanth movie. The Hindi audience has never cared much for his stardom even if the media keeps painting him on par with top actors in Hindi. Kabali will go down as just another dubbed South movie after a couple of days’ curious watchers, mainly the South Indian pockets in rest of India.

    Producer: Kalaipuli S. Thanu.
    Director: Pa. Ranjith.
    Cast: Rajinikanth, Winston Chao, Radhika Apte, Dhansika.

  • ‘Kabali’… For loyal fans only

    ‘Kabali’… For loyal fans only

    MUMBAI: One might wonder what exactly does ‘Kabali’ mean? But who cares what it means literally—as long as Rajinikanth portrays the role of Kabali, that itself gives the word and the film a meaning. A Rajini film has to have action. It must make him look infallible, a larger than life human being. It must project him as a family loving and caring man. The film should also project his philanthropic side and as a man who is always ready to do his bit for the downtrodden and suppressed.

    While Kabali makes sure to incorporate all these (from what could be gathered from its Hindi dubbed version), it also has to keep in mind that Rajini is in his mid-60s and his action has to be so designed as to not show his age. The makers also need to keep in mind the fact that the recent Rajini films have not quite met with the expectations of his fans and, hence, of the box office. To give the film a more universally acceptable look and feel, the story and all the action takes place in Malayasia.

    As the film opens, Rajini is being set free from a jail after serving a 25-year sentence. And, you lose half the confidence in your super hero for as far as you are concerned, he is not the kind to be locked up behind cell doors!

    There was a gang war where a huge massacre was taking place but, when the police arrive, Rajini is caught red-handed while his opponents vanished from the scene just in time to avoid being caught. Now that Rajini is coming out, it is time to resume the gang wars. Rajini has made it to this status from a union leader at a rubber plantation where circumstances made him take to crime. Mainly, he had to safeguard his own Dalit people. He starts with breaking taboos by dressing up in a smart suit and shoes. That is his idea of defiance.

    Rajini’s mentor, Naser, is killed by the Chinese gangsters because while the Chinese indulged in drugs and flesh trade, Naser was against it. Rajini takes over his place to continue the crusade. Meanwhile, Rajini also wants to avenge the deaths of his wife, Radhika Apte, and daughter, Dhansika who was yet to born.

    The first half of the film passes with little happening save for a couple of gang shootouts as both parties take turns to raid their opponent. It is at the close of first half that Rajini meets the daughter he presumed dead. She is a grown up lady now who has been shadowing her father with an intent to protect him if need be.

    As the second half starts, most parts are devoted to reuniting the family after which, the Chinese gang resumes its attacks. Each time, Rajini either manages to survive or outsmart the enemy. This goes on till the final showdown where, at a terrace party, Rajini is caught unarmed and alone. But, as it turns out, he is not alone and most of those around pretending to be the catering staff at the party are his men! The crossfire starts and you can’t make out who is shooting who, nor do you care. The last duel between the Chinese villain, Winston Chao (a Taiwanese actor) and Rajini also avoids hand to hand which used to be the hero’s forte. After all, you can’t challenge age. Our audience love Pakistan-bashing and, with this movie, it seems they will also come to love some Chinese bashing!

    Kabali is all about Rajinikanth and nothing else. The script is routine while the direction is patchy. Dialogue loses much of its appeal and claps in Hindi as do songs. Photography is good. Performances are okay.

    Kabali created hype and expectations being a Rajinikanth movie. The Hindi audience has never cared much for his stardom even if the media keeps painting him on par with top actors in Hindi. Kabali will go down as just another dubbed South movie after a couple of days’ curious watchers, mainly the South Indian pockets in rest of India.

    Producer: Kalaipuli S. Thanu.
    Director: Pa. Ranjith.
    Cast: Rajinikanth, Winston Chao, Radhika Apte, Dhansika.

  • Rajinikanth, Kabali’s marketing overdrive

    Rajinikanth, Kabali’s marketing overdrive

    MUMBAI: Rajini Sir has proved lucky for them. Over the weekend, low cost carrier Air Asia announced the names of three fans who will be given a ticket each to fly to Bangkok and Kaula Lumpur and visit the location where Rajinikanth’s latest film Kabali has been shot. It also announced the names of 10 fans who came out tops in the Air Asia Kabali Video Contest thus winning first day first show tickets to the movie.

    The Air AsiaKabali Video Contest commenced last month and entrants had to film themselves mouthing Rajani’s dialogues from Neruppa Da and upload the videos. Kabali has Rajinikanth playing a underworld Don who fights for Tamils in Malaysia.

    However, the video contest was just one of the initiatives that Air Asia innovated along with Kabali producer-director Kalaipuli S Thanu’s V. Creations. The official airline association deal that the two signed has set a benchmark for film promotion and marketing in India – at least.

    For the last fortnight or so, Air Asia passengers between Bengaluru, New Delhi, Goa, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati, Imphal, Vizag and Kochi, have been greeted by a special aircraft as they have walked on to the tarmac. The plane has the salt and pepper haired Rajinikanth splattered all over the exterior of the aircraft.

    Come 22 July, the A-320 aircraft (which took about a month to design) will be flying exclusively between Bengaluru and Chennai. Passengers boarding the aircraft will be given Kabali memorabilia which includes T-Shirts and mugs, audio CDs and even tickets. They will also be able to munch a special Rajinikanth meal. Other merchandise that has been created to coincide with the film’s upcoming release includes: silver coins with the superstar’s image embossed on it and brought out by the Kerala-based Muthoot Pappachan Group. A Kabali Rajinikanth doll has also been designed by the producer and is being sold at Rs 999.

    Air Asia, on its part, has disclosed that it will continue to fly the special Rajini aircraft much after the film’s release as a tribute to the thespian actor. The film features the veteran actor taking Air Asia flights on several occasions.

    Apart from Air Asia, Kabali’s producer V.Creations has snared tieups with Mondelez for chocolates, PVR Cinemas for multiplexes, Airtel for mobile, Muthoot FinCorp for finance, VS Hospitals for health, Amazon for merchandise, and Emami for healthcare products.

    The brand that Mondelez has chosen for the partnership is 5 Star. Special TVCs featuring the goofy brothers Ramesh and Suresh promoting Kabali have been created and have been running on social media and on television. Advertising panels on buses in Tamil Nadu touting the film with the tagline SuperStar ka 5 star and Superstar in 5 Star. Buses with LED panels screening Kabali trailers, teasers, songs have taken part in road shows covering colleges, schools and malls. The chocolate maker has also put out 18,000 cutouts promoting the film and 5 Star nationally in retail outlets and at the point of sale.

    Keychains, posters, T-shirts, mugs, posters, the Kabali Rajinikanth doll are to be sold on the ecommerce platform as part of its partnership with Amazon.

    Like other partners, the media partners agreed to extend the promotional period when the film release date was extended from 1 July to 15 July to 22 July.

    Apart from Rajinikanth, the film stars Attakathi Dinesh, John Vijay, Dhanika, Koshire, Roshan, Nassar and Winston Cho along with Radhika Apte. Helming it is the young but successful director P.A. Ranjith.

    Estimates are that the valuation of the various tieups that Kabali has managed is in the region of Rs 70-80 crore. The film’s makers are targeting a box office revenue of Rs 500 crore for the film which was made at a budget of around Rs 80 crore.

    It is slated to be released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Thai, Chinese and Japanese. Broadcast, audio, dubbing, digital and overseas rights sales had already netted close to Rs 150 crore for V. Creations. The Hindi version of the film is being distributed by FoxStar Studios India and is expected to debut1,000 screens nationally. In the US, distributor CineGalaxy has lined up a 400 cinema hall release. The sourthern market is expected to see a release in about 2,000 screens even as Kabali is released simultaneously in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

    Rajinikanth’s previous two films Lingaa and Kochadaiiyaan did not do as well as expected at the box office. And questions were being asked whether Thalaivar is a bankable star. If the push that has been being given to Kabali courtesy its marketing tieups gets the cash registers ringing, the critics and naysayers will have been silenced.

  • Rajinikanth, Kabali’s marketing overdrive

    Rajinikanth, Kabali’s marketing overdrive

    MUMBAI: Rajini Sir has proved lucky for them. Over the weekend, low cost carrier Air Asia announced the names of three fans who will be given a ticket each to fly to Bangkok and Kaula Lumpur and visit the location where Rajinikanth’s latest film Kabali has been shot. It also announced the names of 10 fans who came out tops in the Air Asia Kabali Video Contest thus winning first day first show tickets to the movie.

    The Air AsiaKabali Video Contest commenced last month and entrants had to film themselves mouthing Rajani’s dialogues from Neruppa Da and upload the videos. Kabali has Rajinikanth playing a underworld Don who fights for Tamils in Malaysia.

    However, the video contest was just one of the initiatives that Air Asia innovated along with Kabali producer-director Kalaipuli S Thanu’s V. Creations. The official airline association deal that the two signed has set a benchmark for film promotion and marketing in India – at least.

    For the last fortnight or so, Air Asia passengers between Bengaluru, New Delhi, Goa, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati, Imphal, Vizag and Kochi, have been greeted by a special aircraft as they have walked on to the tarmac. The plane has the salt and pepper haired Rajinikanth splattered all over the exterior of the aircraft.

    Come 22 July, the A-320 aircraft (which took about a month to design) will be flying exclusively between Bengaluru and Chennai. Passengers boarding the aircraft will be given Kabali memorabilia which includes T-Shirts and mugs, audio CDs and even tickets. They will also be able to munch a special Rajinikanth meal. Other merchandise that has been created to coincide with the film’s upcoming release includes: silver coins with the superstar’s image embossed on it and brought out by the Kerala-based Muthoot Pappachan Group. A Kabali Rajinikanth doll has also been designed by the producer and is being sold at Rs 999.

    Air Asia, on its part, has disclosed that it will continue to fly the special Rajini aircraft much after the film’s release as a tribute to the thespian actor. The film features the veteran actor taking Air Asia flights on several occasions.

    Apart from Air Asia, Kabali’s producer V.Creations has snared tieups with Mondelez for chocolates, PVR Cinemas for multiplexes, Airtel for mobile, Muthoot FinCorp for finance, VS Hospitals for health, Amazon for merchandise, and Emami for healthcare products.

    The brand that Mondelez has chosen for the partnership is 5 Star. Special TVCs featuring the goofy brothers Ramesh and Suresh promoting Kabali have been created and have been running on social media and on television. Advertising panels on buses in Tamil Nadu touting the film with the tagline SuperStar ka 5 star and Superstar in 5 Star. Buses with LED panels screening Kabali trailers, teasers, songs have taken part in road shows covering colleges, schools and malls. The chocolate maker has also put out 18,000 cutouts promoting the film and 5 Star nationally in retail outlets and at the point of sale.

    Keychains, posters, T-shirts, mugs, posters, the Kabali Rajinikanth doll are to be sold on the ecommerce platform as part of its partnership with Amazon.

    Like other partners, the media partners agreed to extend the promotional period when the film release date was extended from 1 July to 15 July to 22 July.

    Apart from Rajinikanth, the film stars Attakathi Dinesh, John Vijay, Dhanika, Koshire, Roshan, Nassar and Winston Cho along with Radhika Apte. Helming it is the young but successful director P.A. Ranjith.

    Estimates are that the valuation of the various tieups that Kabali has managed is in the region of Rs 70-80 crore. The film’s makers are targeting a box office revenue of Rs 500 crore for the film which was made at a budget of around Rs 80 crore.

    It is slated to be released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Thai, Chinese and Japanese. Broadcast, audio, dubbing, digital and overseas rights sales had already netted close to Rs 150 crore for V. Creations. The Hindi version of the film is being distributed by FoxStar Studios India and is expected to debut1,000 screens nationally. In the US, distributor CineGalaxy has lined up a 400 cinema hall release. The sourthern market is expected to see a release in about 2,000 screens even as Kabali is released simultaneously in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

    Rajinikanth’s previous two films Lingaa and Kochadaiiyaan did not do as well as expected at the box office. And questions were being asked whether Thalaivar is a bankable star. If the push that has been being given to Kabali courtesy its marketing tieups gets the cash registers ringing, the critics and naysayers will have been silenced.