What kind of Bollywood film poster would grab your attention? One that’s hand-painted with vivid colours and looks a like a retro ’80s poster? Or one that flaunts just a photograph depicting the film’s theme that gnaws at your curiosity? Or perhaps you’ll be rivetted by an animated poster played out on a computer or gadget?

Bollywood posters have received an overhaul — and how. They are everywhere in their new avatar from flooding the Internet to blazing as streetside banners. “It is a revolutionary phase for posters in Bollywood,” says Rajeev Chudasama, co-founder and creative director of Marching Ants Advertising. Chudasama was the man behind the New Age posters of Agent Vinod, Kahaani and Gangs of Wasseypur I and II.

Bollywood’s hottest rage, digital posters, is springing to life on the Internet. Doing the rounds are three animated posters from Salman Khan’s new blockbuster, Ek Tha Tiger. A first-of-their kind to be released, Salman fans can’t get enough of these. In one he’s superimposed against a Middle Eastern backdrop — smoking gun in hand and a keffiyeh around his neck — and the film’s theme music plays in the background. “The poster registered 7.5 lakh hits within days of being released on the film’s YouTube site,” says Rafiq Gangjee, vice president, marketing and communications, Yash Raj Films, that has produced the film.

Following in the footsteps of Ek Tha Tiger, a slew of forthcoming releases has taken the digital route. In another poster, there’s Aamir Khan — in the forthcoming Talaash — superimposed over a clip of cars zooming down a bustling cityscape.

These digital posters — to be found on the films’ official websites, YouTube and other portals — come with animation that lasts for a few seconds, have background scores and even the film’s dialogues. Fans can download them and use them as wallpapers.

“Today, poster art is combining the best technology, innovation and creativity,” says Chudasama.

Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Ajay Devgn Ffilms and YRV Infra & Media too have launched a digital poster for their upcoming film, Son of Sardaar. It shows Ajay Devgn sprinting across the computer screen, chased by a bunch of villagers.

The other new films that have jumped on to the digi-poster bandwagon include Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum with its poster getting around 13,500 hits on the YouTube channel of Balaji Motion Pictures. Also, the poster for the soon-to-be-released English Vinglish already has some 3,000 hits on the YouTube channel of Eros Entertainment.

“Motion posters are standing out in the clutter of conventional posters,” says Rudrarup Datta, marketing head, Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

Komal Nahta, editor, Film Information, a film trade journal, attributes this trend to audiences that are more receptive to innovative ideas now. “So, producers have started experimenting with posters in a big way,” he says.

And if you thought that hand-painted posters were history, think again. The Akshay Kumar blockbuster, Rowdy Rathore, brought the glorious era of hand-painted Bollywood posters back to life.

“We wanted the posters to convey that the film was going to be an action entertainer, a predominant theme of films of the ’80s,” says Shikha Kapur, executive director, marketing (studios), Disney and UTV, which co-produced the film.

“Retro-style posters should be designed in keeping with the theme of the film,” says Nahta. So, last year’s smash hit, The Dirty Picture, set in the 1980s, had posters that were digitally given effects of being hand-painted. Yash Raj Films’ Ishaqzaade and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision and Eros International’s Rockstar posters also used the same effect to great success.

And at another level, earlier this year, the superhit Kahaani gave birth to idea-driven concept posters. The film’s much talked about poster abstractly depicted a heavily pregnant Vidya Balan as Goddess Durga, hinting at what the movie had in store.

Chudasama says concept posters are all about a smart design that’s marked by the minimal use of images but loaded with stylish fonts, slick photography and smart placement of images. “They tie in with a film’s theme and bring out the key concept of the film,” adds Nahta.

So, Tipping Point Films and Anurag Kashyap Films, the makers of the recently released Gangs of Wasseypur II, have posters designed like real-life election posters. On the other hand, the posters of Illuminati Films’ Agent Vinod were minimalist bearing only the stylish initials ‘AV’ on them.

Clearly, if creativity is king, innovative and imaginative posters are the new way to go in Bollywood.       

 

DIGI CHARTBUSTERS

Five must-see digital posters

Ek Tha Tiger: A silhouetted Salman Khan stands against the backdrop of a Middle Eastern landscape as helicopters hover above him.

Go to www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/ett

Son of Sardaar: Go to www.facebook.com/SonOfSardaarTheFilm and scroll down for the poster featuring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt and Sonakshi Sinha.

Talaash: Aamir Khan looms over a clip of a busy city street. Go to www.youtube.com/user/TSeriesChannel and search for ‘Talaash-official trailer’.

English Vinglish: Pamphlets bearing the name of the movie fly around as Sridevi appears. Go to www.youtube.com/user/erosentertainment and key in ‘English Vinglish motion poster’.

Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum: Watch the actors chick-spotting on a beach. Visit www.youtube.com/user/balajimotionpictures.