Trail(er) blazer!

Jasmine Singh

Punjabi film director Amit Prasher was virtually sleeping at a studio in Mumbai till a few days ago, sitting through the entire process of editing the trailer of his upcoming film Munde Kamaal De. The final result has been satisfactory for Amit and his team, the promo have more than a hundred hits everyday! Director Baljeet Deo’s case, and also Rohit Jugraj’s case was no different. The two directors have recently cut online promos for their upcoming projects Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi and Sardaar ji, respectively.

So, this is it, the first look of any film, a promo trailer, which is anyway important part of any film, has now become the ‘most important task’ for any film director. Well, the cliché is, no stone is left unturned for this – roping-in technically important names from Bollywood, hiring studios in Mumbai and even going abroad for the same. It is the first look that the directors will grab those eyeballs…really?

Cut it

Punjabi singer-actors, just singers and just actors, have a full-on online presence. They share just about every picture starting from the first day of the shoot till the very end. As for the directors, it is the promo from where the story starts. Amit Prasher gets all his movie promos made from Just Right Studioz, based in Mumbai. “Believe it or not, the fate of a film is more or less decided after the first promo is out, which is why it is so important that it should be bang on and impactful,” shares Amit.

A film becomes the talk of the town for a good or bad promo. Ironically, a promo is always a director’s baby, with the rest of the crew not having much of a say. A good promo, a superb trailer means extra effort, extra diligence and extra bucks (this one is for the producers). The first look trailer of director Rohit Jugraj’s film Sardaar ji, starring Diljit Dosanjh, Neeru Bajwa and Mandy Takkar, is already receiving great reviews. “Cutting a promo is as important as shooting a film, it is definitely the technical team that comes into play here; in the end, however, it is the director who will be deciding what he wants the viewers to see. What scenes, which songs and what action will make an impact. It is like showing the glimpse of the film in 2 minutes 30 seconds,” he says in one go.

Tech freak

A promo involves sound technical knowhow and editing; while most directors like to hit Mumbai to get their promos made, Punjabi film director and owner of Athra Studios, Mohali, cuts the trailer of his own films. An engineer-turned-director Atharv uses a lot of graphics in his promos. “Only a director knows what and how a promo should look like; almost all directors sit through the entire process of its making,” shares Atharv, who is well-trained in this art.

A first cut takes at least a week or even months to take final shape. It is rejected many times before one is finally accepted. Adds Atharv, who calls the promo an art of first impression, “It is dis-assembling a film and then giving it a structure. I bet even today the promos of Avatar, Matrix, Harry Potter, Spiderman or Dabangg are most watched ones on Google because in the given two minutes they showed arresting dialogues, searing performances and awesome production design.”

Promo perfect

Of late, the trailer of Amitoj Mann’s upcoming film Gaddar, starring Harbhajan Mann, is also creating a buzz for the mystery element. Also, in the recent past, films like Carry On Jatta or Ishq Brandy gained ground because of their fine promos. Fans have outrightly rejected films like Mere Yaar Kaminey, Kirpaan and What The Jatt, which had sad-looking promos! The first cut of What The Jatt barely gathered a few hundred hits in the first week of its going online. The same scene was repeated with Punjabiyan Da King and Gun n Goal, which hardly got any notice for their promos. Manish Moore, promo editor from Mumbai, sees changing trends in promos and trailers as well. “It is the genre that decides in which direction the promo will go. If it is a funny film, then it has to be seen whether it has to outrightly funny. A promo can actually get ticket buyers or alienate people from the film.”

[email protected]