The Chaturanga still that was used in several teaser ads

Her raised eyebrow, bare back and the catchline “Amake tomader kisher proyojon?” (What do you need me for?) make you stop, take a second look at the huge billboard and wonder.

Two weeks later, some more billboards spill the beans — it’s Chaturanga, a Tagore story revolving around one woman and two men, directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay, which hits the theatres this Friday.

“I didn’t want Chaturanga to meet the fate of other films which release and go away in no time. I wanted to create a buzz,” says Suman, who has conceived the creatives along with Chaturanga producer Campfire Films.

Though he had a target audience (the urban middle-class) in mind while making the film, after the post-production work Suman felt Chaturanga should be watched by everyone.

“We thought of doing something different and creative. Something that’s eye-catching. We lifted dialogues from the film and put them on the billboards, so we didn’t have to work very hard either.... This is the first time I have brainstormed for a film’s publicity. If it works, I will do it for my other films too,” he smiles.

Suman and his team have plastered the city with 50 teasers and 105 billboards of 12 varieties. “Chaturanga is not a very widely-read novel of Tagore’s, so making people aware was very important. This kind of publicity will assure at least a four-week run at the theatres,” says the stage actor-turned-director.

Initially, a sum of Rs 10 lakh (from the Rs 90 lakh budget) had been kept aside for publicity and promotion. Later, friends pitched in to scale it up.

“Rs 10 lakh is too little an amount for such publicity. But a lot of people wanted to be associated with the film and they have forked out money for the campaign. Nihar Naturals has sponsored some of the billboards as Ritu (Rituparna) is their brand ambassador.... I am overwhelmed as this had never happened with my last film Herbert. Herbert was not made with this kind of an attitude and not too many people saw it either. I knew that Herbert would be critically acclaimed, that it would not touch the mainstream. But I want Chaturanga to be a commercial success. It has the potential,” says Suman.