Director Anurag Kashyap was recently at Hans Raj College

Delhi campus is fast becoming a favourite hub of filmmakers to promote their films. After Ranbir Kapoor for Rockstar, Maneesh Sharma visited the campus with co-stars for Band Baaja Baaraat and Prakash Jha also planned to hold debates for his films Rajneeti and Aarakshan, and recently, the cast of Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai visited JNU and held a discussion on the film.

Director Dibakar Banerjee shares, “We took Shanghai to JNU because as a hotbed of emerging and evolving political consciousness JNU has always been the cradle of all new political thought. There was no better venue for us to reach out to the youth and engage in a vibrant and contentious debate about the political ideas in the movie. We got word from a student body that they would be interested in talking to the cast and crew and it was planned almost overnight. They debated, argued, talked to us, cheered at the songs, and then we showed them clippings of how the film was made, how the actors prepared. Kalki and I ate rajma chawal from the college canteen. We had fun and if you call it a film promotion, I would happily do it for all my films. It beats mall visits and press conferences by a mile.”
Director Anurag Kashyap, who was recently at Hans Raj College for a hostel reunion, talked about his film Gangs of Wasseypur with students. “It was a good friendly interaction, where I shared about my story and they asked me questions on the subject. It evoked curiosity about the film among them. It was amazing to listen to their varied opinions about the film. The interaction helped me give them the right picture about the film,” says the director.
Director Anand L. Rai’s next Raanjhanaa, which reflects life in JNU, recently visited the campus with actress Sonam Kapoor. Sonam plays a Varanasi girl, who studies in JNU. She will spend some time in the campus for a better grasp of the character. Delhi-based Anand Rai says it was interaction with students that helped him develop the script of the film. “JNU is not a campus, it’s an attitude. JNU has an intellectual and straightforward crowd, who have concrete opinions about national issues. They are a smart, sharp, bold and confident lot. I feel that visiting the campus and interacting with students opens you a lot. I will have another discussion at JNU once my film is released to know the students’ opinion on their life being portrayed on the big screen,” he adds.
But few students and people from the industry feel that such interactions on campus make sense only if the subject of the movie is relevant.
Director Rajshree Ojha of Aisha fame terms it a pure marketing gimmick. “The trend, which is quite popular in America, has just started to take shape in India. India is a young nation with an intelligent audience. It’s the biggest market to promote films.”
Rajshree further adds, “The young brigade has begun to understand cinema better. They are aware of political issues and talk intelligently about them. I took my first short film Badger to Satyajit Ray Film institute, Calcutta, which really helped me develop the film further. But only films based on relevant issues, which students can relate to, should be taken to colleges for a debate, unlike a rom-com or action thriller,” she says adding that she will be taking her upcoming movie which is based on life of youth to campuses around India.
Agreeing with Ojha, JNU student Devdeep Chowdhary says, “The promotion of the film depends on the issues it’s dealing with. If the movie has a good story, it should be allowed. Shanghai is a political thriller, it was quite relevant to bring it among JNU students. But campus space should not be used as a promotional ground for movies like Rowdy Rathore.”
However V.K. Kwatra, Principal, Hans Raj College feels that entertainment is a part of life and if filmmakers want to connect with youth audiences directly, a promotional event is a good thing. “The interactive sessions help students know about various aspects about films and filmmaking from the experts. It’s good for students who want to opt for it as a career later,” he sums up.