Rajinikanth Archives - MARKETING JOURNO

Are the AI-generated Voices of Late Singers, De-ageing Technology, and VFX Undoubtedly the Cutting-edge Marketing Tools Driving Kollywood’s Big-ticket Movies?

By Dhileepan | September 8, 2024

The Thalapathy Vijay starrer and Venkat Prabhu’s (VP) directorial, The Greatest Of All Time (The G.O.A.T.), which premiered globally on September 5th, 2024, took the box office by storm. AGS Entertainment, the movie’s producer, proudly announced an impressive day-one worldwide box office collection of 126.32 crores+ on social media. This phenomenal opening can be largely attributed to Thalapathy Vijay’s immense star power, his groundbreaking first-time collaboration with the dynamic Director-Music Composer duo VP and Yuvan Shankar Raja (Yuvan), and the superior production scale and quality showcased in the promotional materials. A deeper dive into the marketing strategy reveals three pivotal elements contributing to the pre-release buzz. Firstly, the use of the AI-generated voice of the late singer Bhavatharini (Yuvan’s sibling and VP’s female cousin) in the melodic track, ‘Chinna Chinna Kangal‘. Secondly, cutting-edge de-ageing technology is employed to present a youthful version of Vijay, a highlight enthusiastically promoted by the film’s crew in pre-release interviews. Lastly, AI technology was ingeniously utilized to bring the late actor Vijayakanth to life for a cameo, information that further fueled public anticipation. These strategies, combined with existing excitement, generated an unparalleled buzz, setting the stage for a highly frenzied reception.

Previous attempts at using de-aging technology in Tamil Cinema:

Kollywood continues to push boundaries with de-aging technology. The Rajinikanth starrer and Nelson’s directorial, ‘Jailer’ (2023) and the Kamal Haasan starrer and Shankar’s directorial, ‘Indian 2’ (2024) utilized this technology to bring back the yesteryear looks of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Among these, ‘Indian 2’ stood out by heavily promoting its innovative use of de-aging technology. Despite receiving generally negative reviews, the film’s end segment, hinting at ‘Indian 3’, garnered applause, especially for the de-aged ‘Senapathy’ (An Iconic character played by Kamal Haasan in the ‘Indian’ franchise).

De-aged look of Kamal Haasan as Senapathy in 'Indian 2' — De-aged look of Kamal Haasan as Senapathy in ‘Indian 2’ (Photo Courtesy: Lyca Productions)

There were compelling rumours about bringing back a younger version of Kamal Haasan in the 2022 sensational hit, Vikram. The movie’s director, Lokesh Kanagaraj, later confirmed their plans to showcase a younger Kamal Haasan briefly. However, due to time constraints, the idea wasn’t pursued, leaving the footage they had worked on untouched. This material remains intact and could be utilized at any time in the future.

Below is the reference video…

Upcoming Kollywood biggies experimenting with AI-generated voices of legendary singers and cutting-edge de-aging technology:

The excitement surrounding these technologies and the enthusiastic reception from audiences has led major industry players to embrace them. Rajinikanth‘s highly anticipated movie, ‘Vettaiyan‘ is slated to hit theatres on October 10th, 2024. Yesterday, the movie’s producer, ‘Lyca Productions‘ announced plans to use the AI-generated voice of a legendary late singer in the first single, which is expected to be released soon.

Bringing back the voice of a legendary singer in #MANASILAAYO from VETTAIYAN Comment your guesses below. #Vettaiyan Releasing on 10th October in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi & Kannada!@rajinikanth @SrBachchan @tjgnan @anirudhofficial @LycaProductions #Subaskaran… pic.twitter.com/UDc3uB9adC

— Lyca Productions (@LycaProductions) September 7, 2024

Also, news is circulating on social media about the innovative use of de-ageing technology to bring back a younger version of Rajinikanth in his upcoming movie, Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj.

VFX in the recent Tamil big-ticket movies showcases a groundbreaking leap in visual storytelling, setting new benchmarks in the film industry.

Of late, with the usage of VFX in Tamil films, audiences are treated to some larger-than-life sequences. The release of the Thalapathy Vijay starrer and Lokesh Kanagaraj‘s directorial, ‘Leo’ (2023), set the bar high with much hype around two standout sequences. The first is a gripping 10-minute scene featuring the actor taking down a hyena, and the second is an intense car chase. In pre-release interviews, the hyena sequence received significant emphasis. The film soared, opening to 148.5 crores+ at the box office, the highest day 1 worldwide gross for an Indian movie this year. Even in Netflix‘s official promotional content, photos and videos of the hyena and car chase sequences dominate social media. Likewise, Sivakarthikeyan-starrer and R. Ravikumar‘s directorial ‘Ayalaan’ (2024) featured a unique grey alien character, earning rave reviews for its visual effects.

In the vibrant age of OTT, audiences are fervently craving nostalgia alongside the thrill of fresh ideas and portrayals. Enter the marvels of AI-generated voices of iconic late singers, breathtaking de-ageing tech, and awe-inspiring VFX, all pushing films beyond sky-high expectations. These groundbreaking technologies have graced the screen with both impeccable and nearly flawless results, the latter often hindered by budget and time constraints. Yet, it’s undeniable that these innovations have bestowed upon viewers countless unforgettable moments. The future of these modern marketing wonders hinges on the brilliance with which films weave technology into their storytelling and fulfil pre-release excitement, while makers must ensure they wield these tools with respect, never reducing them or their audience to mere gimmicks.

Photo and Video Courtesy: AGS Entertainment and Dream Frames

Utilization of Cutting Edge Technologies for Marketing in Indian Film Industry

By Dhileepan | September 10, 2017

Mersal Vijay — **Utilization of Cutting Edge Technologies for Marketing in Indian Film Industry**

Of late, I have observed several instances where the Indian Film Producers have showcased their immense interests in optimizing cutting edge technologies to promote their movies. There are few notable ones from among such instances. To start with, let me brief about the utilizations of cutting edge technologies for the marketing of movies such as ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’, ‘2.0’, ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ (aka JHMS) and ‘Mersal’.

b2-4 — **Still featuring Prabhas from ‘*Baahubali 2: The Conclusion*‘**

In the case of ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’, the film’s maker, ‘Arka Media Works’ had utilized the Facebook Messenger Chatbot service to conduct an interactive quiz and share information on subscription to it; released a VR (Virtual Reality) video that guided the viewers through a virtual tour on the sets of Baahubali; live streamed the Baahubali pre-release event in 360° on the movie’s official YouTube channel; released a teaser of the 10-min VR film, ‘The Sword Of Destiny’ that is based on the characters from Baahubali.

To know more on the Digital Marketing strategies of ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ by ‘Arka Media Works’, click here!

To make the first look launch of ‘2.0’ (Sequel to the 2010 movie, ‘Endhiran’) unique and special, the film’s producer, ‘Lyca Productions’ had leveraged AR (Augmented Reality) by setting up a virtual conversation between the image of Chitti (character played by Rajinikanth in ‘Endhiran’) – that was incorporated to the screen that was placed over the stage – and the film maker, Karan Johar (host of the first look launch event).

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An infographic on the Promotional Strategies of ‘2.0′:

To know more about the promotional strategies for ‘2.0’, click here!

JHMS promotional event — **Shah Rukh Khan and Anushkha Sharma from a promotional event for ‘*Jab Harry Met Sejal*‘**

To promote the Shah Rukh Khan-Anushkha Sharma starrer ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’, the movie’s producer, ‘Red Chillies Entertainment’ had launched an interactive Chatbot service in Facebook Messenger, which offered a lot more immersive experience than that of the one that was utilized for ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’. The Chatbot was designed in such a way that the people can get to interact with the character, ‘Harry’ played by Shah Rukh Khan in the movie. In the chat, the characters of the movie were introduced, an overview about the relationship between them was let known, the crux of the film was highlighted and the options to access Mini Trails (series of promo clips of the movie) and video songs were made available. Also using the Chatbot, people were able to create customized Jab Harry Met Sejal posters and access web ticket booking and film review links.

To know more about the Digital Marketing efforts of ‘Red Chillies Entertainment’ for ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’, click here!

**Still featuring Vijay from ‘*Mersal*‘**

Along the lines of the efforts of ‘Arka Media Works’ for ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’, ‘Lyca Productions’ for ‘2.0’ and ‘Red Chillies Entertainment’ for ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’, ‘Sri Thenandal Films’ aka ‘TSL’ have been pushing the envelope with Digital Marketing for their 100^th venture, ‘Mersal’. The movie also marks the 25^th year, for the Oscar Winning Music Composer, A.R.Rahman and the South Indian Star, Vijay, in the Indian Film Industry. The marketing for ‘Mersal’, which is gearing up for a release on October 18^th 2017, has been proceeding in full swing. Similar to ‘Baahubali 2’ and ‘JHMS’, for ‘Mersal’ as well, ‘TSL’ has launched an interactive Chatbot in Facebook Messenger to create customized ‘Mersal’ posters.

In the case of ‘JHMS’, we had a look at how an interactive Facebook Messenger Chatbot could be utilized to access contents, that are relevant to the movie, from one place. But, there is a visual discovery app of the London based firm ‘blippAR’, which I came across recently, that could also be utilized to access the contents of the movie from one place in an even more interesting manner. The ‘blippAR’ app operates using Augmented Reality, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to bring the physical world to life through smartphones and wearables. As far as the Indian Film industry is concerned, ‘blippAR’ has already created a blipp for the Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Bhoothnath Returns’. Using the ‘Bhoothnath Returns’ blipp, one could access the movie’s video songs, making videos, Juke Box, web ticket booking links and an option to click photos using camera effects that have been customized for the movie.

Now in 2017, as mentioned earlier, Indian Film Producers are leveraging the digital channels in a much more effective manner, than they were in the days of ‘Bhoothnath Returns’, to promote their movies. In the matter of ‘Mersal’, as of now, contents such as HD stills, lyric videos of songs, exclusive interview of the film’s producer, audio launch videos and audio CDs have been officially released. In the forthcoming days, teasers, trailers, song promo videos and full song HD videos will also be released and once when advanced ticket booking for ‘Mersal’ commences, web ticket booking links will also be available. Isn’t it a cool approach to have the contents pertaining to ‘Mersal’ as mentioned above to be packed into a blipp of the ‘blippAR’ app! Similar to the ‘Photo’ feature in the blipp of ‘Bhoothnath Returns’, a customized camera effect, featuring Vijay of ‘Mersal’, has the potential to go down with the fans of the star. Suppose if ‘TSL’ is in a plan to launch a ‘Mersal’ themed mobile video game then that as well could be incorporated to the blipp.

Prior to the theatrical release of the 2013 Tamil rom-com, ‘Raja Rani’ the movie’s primary characters were introduced one-by-one in a cine supplement of a daily newspaper. In 2017, prior to the release of the Tamil action thriller, ‘Vikram Vedha’, the introduction scenes of Vedha (played by Actor Vijay Sethupathy) and Vikram (played by Actor Madhavan) were released in the official YouTube channel of the film’s producer. Imagine the promotional tactics as said above in the case of ‘Raja Rani’ and ‘Vikram Vedha’ being incorporated to an Augmented Reality app such as ‘blippAR’! Isn’t the idea sounding effective, with respect to marketing, to the film producers and adding value to the film audience!

With all being said and done with respect to the utilization of cutting edge technologies for marketing in Indian Film Industry, all what a marketing cum movie buff like me has to do is to wait and watch for the Indian movie martech to evolve!

Promotional strategies for ‘2.0’ seem to serve as perfect preludes to the movie!

By Dhileepan | July 16, 2017

2.0 still — **Promotional strategies for ‘2.0’ seem to serve as perfect preludes to the movie!**

A film like ‘2.0’ (A sequel to the 2010 movie, ‘Endhiran’) that features stars like Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar is automatically bound to garner the attention of movie-going people. But, Lyca Productions – the makers of ‘2.0’ – are pushing the envelope, in terms of promotional strategies, to widen the movie’s reach. Here are two such promotional strategies that have been implemented so far by the makers:

1. Utilization of Augmented Reality in the first look poster launch of ‘2.0’:

The first look poster launch of ‘2.0’ took place in Mumbai where the first looks of Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar from ‘2.0’ were launched in 3D. Huge LCD screens were placed in the arena to set the tone for the mega audio launch. The event was hosted by the Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar. Salman Khan had also made his presence at this event.

The best among the innovative ideas that were implemented in this event was the utilization of Augmented Reality. Using the technology, the image of Chitti (the character played by Rajinikanth in ‘Endhiran’) – answering Karan Johar’s questions – was incorporated into the screen that was placed over the stage.

Click here to enjoy watching the lively conversation between Chitti (Of course, a virtual image!) and Karan Johar. (Courtesy: Movie Talkies)

A video titled, ‘Making of Augmented Reality – 2.0 First Look Launch | Lyca Productions’ was released on the official YouTube channel of ‘Lyca Productions’ on November 26, 2016, which shows a glimpse of how the ‘Augmented Reality’ sequence of the first look event was shot.

Click here to take a look at the making video. (Courtesy: Lyca Productions)

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2. Flew a hot air balloon over the Hollywood Signage in Los Angeles:

Hot air balloons for '2.0' — **Hot air balloon flying over the Hollywood Signage in Los Angeles**

To grab the eyeballs of people from outside India, Lyca Productions flew a 100-foot tall hot air balloon over the iconic Hollywood signage in Los Angeles. From Los Angeles, the balloon will be traveling to QuickChek Festival (28^th -30^th July) in New Jersey, USA. From New Jersey, the balloon will proceed to San Francisco, London, Dubai, Europe, South East Asian Countries, Australia, and finally to India. In India, the balloon is set to travel to various cities. Also, Lyca Productions is planning to involve well-known film stars from India, to take a ride in the balloon.

Click here to have a look at the video of hot air balloons flying. (Courtesy: YOYO TV Channel)

These are the 2 interesting promotional strategies from Lyca Productions for ‘2.0’. Hope you liked reading my write-up. Keep following Marketing Journo to get to know the interesting promotional strategies that get applied for ‘2.0’ by Lyca Productions in the upcoming days.