Once upon a time, interviews with actors were a coveted affair – rare, precious, mostly written. With television, they became visual, but still uncommon enough in the early days to excite the curious fan. Conversations had whirled around cinema and life in general. There was no formula, no mandatory appearances, no repetitive Q&A. Actors were interviewed, as a treat, when both the parties - interviewer and interviewee - agreed on it for no greater purpose than the love for art.
In the last two decades, interviews changed character, almost unnoticeably, when film promotions grew from posters to trailers to online gimmicks to actor interactions in the days prior to the release. Profiling of an actor was no longer entertained, except in long-form journalism. Interviews were reduced to conversations about the immediate movie in promotional events. Members of the cast and crew would keep aside a few days exclusively for the promos, attending them one after the other, in half-hour or one-hour periods.
When they are booked for a movie, actors and technicians are asked to sign agreements which typically include a clause for promotional events. Their pay is mostly inclusive of attending these events, and if they are not interested or would like to negotiate, it is expected to take place before the contracts are in place.
“Before signing my agreements, I tell them in advance that I would not be part of marketing activities post the shoot, except for print [interviews],” says filmmaker Rajeev Ravi, who never appears in promotional video events.
Rajeev, adored storyteller of movies like Annayum Rasoolum and Kammattipadam, does not force his actors to do promos either, he says. “This is part of cinema becoming an industry, where corporate laws take over. On the other hand, there are actors who look forward to such events, because they bring a lot of visibility.”
Biju Menon, an actor with long years of experience in Malayalam cinema, is apparently not one of them. Only last week, he was fined Rs 15 lakh by the Kerala Film Producers Association for failing to appear in the promotional events of his film Nadanna Sambhavam (2024). B Unnikrishnan, filmmaker, producer and head of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala, alleged that a film producer had suffered a loss of Rs 25 lakh because of Biju Menon’s refusal to take part in promo events, after signing a contract to do so.
“It is a negotiation that takes place. I let them know how many days or events I can do promotions for, and we come to an understanding before I sign the contract,” says Kani Kusruti, acclaimed actor known for her performances in films like All We Imagine As Light and Biriyaani.
As we speak, she is doing promotions for the Hindi film Assi, in which she has acted alongside Taapsee Pannu and Revathy. In one of their interviews together, Revathy and Kani say they are both just getting used to promoting a film with such back-to-back events.
“In the old days, you only needed a film poster to make you want to go for the only visual entertainment you knew. But now with the huge amount of content on social media, films are forced to make waves to get attention. At the end of the day, all of us would like the film to succeed, but the question is if it [promotional events] should be a mandatory part of an actor's job,” Kani says.
Back-to-back interviews about the same film that is yet to be released would limit questions and often appear draining for the crew. Some of the media try to beat the competition by including “fun” questions, which often become prying and personal, even as their interviewees look uncomfortable and try to dodge or laugh away the questions.
“I try to keep uncomfortable questions at bay and keep the conversation about the work. Our intention with promotions is to generate interest around the film. So questions about the work and what surrounds the work are okay. But when it gets a little too personal, I don't really play along. I have the right to keep quiet, and I like to keep the innermost part of my life completely private,” says Roshan Mathew, an actor known for his nuanced performances in movies like Moothon, Paradise and Ithiri Neram.
Filmmaker Krishand, recognised for his critically acclaimed movies like Avasavyooham and Purusha Pretham, says that content does not matter as long as the algorithm works in bringing the film some attention, which is the purpose of all promotional events. His film, Masthishka Maranam, is soon to be released in theatres, and Krishand has been engaged in promotions for weeks – something he is trying for the first time. His earlier works were released on OTT platforms.
“I understand that certain actors are not comfortable with promotional events. Some of them say that at the time of signing their contract. But when an actor, too, wishes for a certain kind of cinema to survive, and when they really love the artwork, they tend to become part of the whole business. The idea is to create an echo chamber, to maximise the reach,” Krishand says.
Roshan says that once he realised it was part of the job, he made his peace with it. “When it is a film that I have had a good experience shooting with, the highlight of the promotional events becomes, for me, getting together with the group that made the film. It will be a few days before the release, so I enjoy the company,” he says.
On average, about four to five days are required for an actor or a crew member to promote the film. Reasons for a no-show can vary. Some actors may feel uneasy about becoming part of the promotions, sheerly by their discomfort with public appearances. Others, who had signed a movie believing it to be good, may later not be happy with how it turned out and not wish to associate with it anymore.
Actor Shine Tom Chacko - who has had quite a few controversial interviews of his own – once made an issue of one of his female co-actors not showing up for promos. Sreenath Bhasi courted trouble when repetitive questions about the title of his film appeared to anger him and led to verbal abuse of the anchor.
There is no reliable data to confirm how much of the promos translate to theatrical success. Kishkindha Kaandam (2024), a film that had quietly slipped into the theatres, along with a hugely popularised movie like ARM, gained an audience after the first few days, purely by word of mouth and because the first viewers found a brilliance in it that they could not let go unseen. Romancham (2023) came with a plea from its producer, Johnpaul George, to watch the film in theatres because his life and career were at stake, and the unusual horror comedy became a blockbuster. Films like Jan-E-Man and Operation Java, after a lull in release in 2021, turned into commercial successes, launching skilled directors like Chidambaram and Tharun Moorthy.
Sadly, the reverse could happen too - beautiful movies missing out on making a mark because they were not properly placed in the market. As Kani says, it then becomes a negotiation, finding a middle ground, for the sake of art.
