Meet Bollywood's cross promotional club

Akshay Kumar

Call it Bollywood's ‘mutual admiration club' or simply a virtual shout out, the social media cross promotional trend is uniting Bollywood's current crop into one big happy family. It's a concept that has been explored before. "It's not a new way of promoting films. It shows the unity in our film industry," Akshay Kumar said at a press conference in Mumbai in the run-up to his film Rustom. What has changed is the platform.

Akshay Kumar

The virtual world is making it quicker for stars to reach out to their own fans and direct them to the films they want to recommend rather than wait ing for the media to convey their message. Add to that the convenience of snapping a video on a 4G-enabled smartphone and uploading it in a matter of seconds instead of relying on a tedious press conference or an interview to make an announcement. Posts, tweets, photos and videos on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are propelling the trend forward.

Alia Bhatt danced to retro Akshay Kumar single Tip Tip Barsa Pani in a video to promote Rustom

Win-win situation
Social media challenges are bringing tech-savvy Bollywood stars together to form new alliances, and have some fun in the process. Last month, after the rejigged single Kala Chashma went viral, the film Baar Baar Dekho's leading pair Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra started the Kala Chashma Challenge that had office-goers and college students dancing in dark glasses to the Punjabi dance number. Ranveer Singh posted a selfie with Dil Dhadakne Do director Zoya Akhtar on Instagram in dark shades. They brought on the swag and gave a nod to buddy Katrina Kaif's movie with one stylish selfie. Baar Baar Dekho's box office collections will reveal the outcome of all the support. For now, the cross promotion trend is bringing Bollywood buddies closer and widening their respective fan bases.

Ranveer Singh and Zoya Akhtar clicked a selfie in dark glasses for the Kala Chashma Challenge in time for Katrina's film Baar Baar Dekho

Akshay Kumar took time out from the success party of his latest film Rustom and the shoot of his next, Jolly LLB, in Lucknow to show some love for Sonakshi Sinha's action film Akira, which releases this Friday. In an adorable video, he announced on August 24, "Hello everyone, at the moment, I am in good old Lucknow and behind me is the Gomti river. I am super happy about how women of this country are creating history with their achievements. And in a few days, Sonakshi is coming with Akira showing us how kick-a'' women of India can really be. So guys don't forget September 2 and one advice - never underestimate the power of an extremely pi'''d off woman, especially when she's Akira."

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Ranveer Singh posted a throwback picture from 2002 with Akshay Kumar ahead of Rustom

Akki has been Sonakshi's co-star in Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014) and Rowdy Rathore (2012). He tweeted the video with the message: "Heard she's mastered the art of kicking in this one. Looking forward to see Sonakshi Sinha in and as Akira." Sonakshi returned the generous gesture with the reply, "Also especially when she now knows how to kick like khiladi. Thank you for always believing in me."

Returning the good deed
The actress had taken a rockstar approach two weeks ago to cross-promote Akshay's Rustom. She played drums while singing Atif Aslam's Tere Sang Yaara from the flick. Considering Akshay's likeability in the film fraternity, it was no surprise that other stars joined her in promoting the period film based on the 1959 Nanavati case. When he reportedly shared the idea of uploading these videos on social media with his filmi friends, they agreed.

Salman Khan shared a video on Twitter announcing the release date a month after his own film Sultan hit screens. Meanwhile, Befikre star Ranveer Singh went all out to ensure his fans watched Rustom.

In this instance, first came a throwback picture with Akshay Kumar - Akki commented on Ranveer's quirky hairstyle - followed by a video of him doing an impromptu jig to '90s song Zeher Hai Ya Pyaar Hai Tera (Sabse Bada Khiladi), dressed in a navy officer's uniform a la Akshay's titular character. Filmmaker and part time reality show judge Karan Johar went a step further and challenged ‘Chhota Rustom' Ranveer to a pout-off with the hashtag #7daystoRustom. A day before its release, Alia Bhatt transformed into Akki's co-star Raveena Tandon in Mohra and danced to rain song Tip Tip Barsa Pani in a yellow sari, with the line: ‘Just #1DayforRustom'. Alia's own star appeal had her younger fans rooting for a film they would have missed otherwise.
The cross promotional trend is giving more power to stars and using the lightning-fast reach of social media in a synergy where there are no losers.