What is with Telugu actors, directors and producers often appealing to the fan bases of superstars like Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu and Prabhas? Do they seriously believe that such appeals translate into footfalls?
While promoting Robinhood, both Nithiin and producer Y Ravi Shankar have consciously tried wooing the fans of multiple superstars. Nithiin was strategically asked about what he would like to steal from Prabhas, Mahesh, PSPK and others. This is not the only instance. On Sunday, at a public event, Ravi Shankar declared that the fans of the TFI's big stars must watch Robinhood because Mythri Movie Makers is working with Prabhas (Fauji), Jr NTR (Dragon, directed by Prashanth Neel), Allu Arjun (Pushpa movies), Pawan Kalyan (Ustaad Bhagat Singh), and others. "It is time for the fans of these actors to watch Robinhood, produced by our banner," he said.
Almost every other promotional gimmick these days involves invoking the names of superstars. Most of the time, these invocations are insincere and forced. At times, though, they work perfectly fine. Recently, Natural Star Nani too attempted a similar thing while promoting Court.
Filmmakers likely know that shorts and reels featuring references to big stars tend to go viral on Instagram and other social media platforms. While this doesn't guarantee footfalls, it serves as an effective publicity strategy. Anything that keeps your film in the audience's mindspace is a valuable approach.
